


Oscar.  November.  Echo.

by EmAino



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Bromance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-01-26 13:54:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 21,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12558844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmAino/pseuds/EmAino
Summary: A collection of one-shots and drabbles about The Shield boys.  Other members of the roster may appear as well.





	1. TLC

**The morning after TLC 2017**

          His phone vibrating wildly against the nearby nightstand, waking him from a very peaceful, deep sleep was enough to put Roman Reigns in a foul mood.  The pounding headache and soreness all over his body from his current illness resuming upon his awakening, however, pushed him from merely angry to pissed.  Glancing briefly at the blinding picture on the screen, he growled audibly as he put the phone to his ear.  

          “Your ass better be in jail or dead.” The Samoan warned, pushing back a strand of his long, black hair with his free hand.

          “Someone’s bitchy.” Dean Ambrose chuckled from the other end.  A mischievous grin appeared on the brown-haired man’s face as he leaned back against the headboard of his hotel bed. “You know that you worry about me if I don’t check in.”

          “Not enough to have you call at 2 in the fucking morning, idiot.” Roman smiled slightly himself. Although, it was more of a half of a smile and half of a wince due to his head and body aching. “Where’s Rollins?  I thought he knew that it was his turn to watch you.”

          “Crossfit Jesus is in the shower.” Dean shrugged, twirling the empty beer bottle in his free hand casually. “How you doing, Uce?  You catch any of the show tonight?”

          “Nah, man.” Roman apologized, remembering that the TLC pay per view had taken place. “I’ve been out of it most of the day.”

          “No worries.” Dean replied, “Sleep’s probably good for you.”

          “I think it’s these pills they gave me,” Roman continued, “Knock me on my ass!  Angle do all right?”   
          “Yeah, he did great.” Dean replied, hearing the shower come to an end. “We even got him to don Shield gear.  Still, it wasn’t the same as it would have been with you.  Docs give you any kind of an update as to when you’ll be back?”   
          “Nah.” Roman sighed, “Still too early to tell, but it should only be a few weeks.   This shit sucks though, D.  Everything from my head to my toes hurts!  I feel like I’ve been through back to back Hell in a Cell matches, followed by a TLC match.”

          “Damn.” Dean winced as Seth walked back into the main room.

          “Who in the hell are you talking to?” Seth raised a suspicious eyebrow, “It’s 2 in the morning.”

          “Ah, just some phone sex chick.” Dean smiled, turning his phone on speaker. “She sounds fucking hideous though!  Not sure that I’d recommend…”

          “Oh, God damn it.” Seth interrupted upon recognizing the laughter coming from the other end of the phone. He put a hand to his forehead and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Big Dog!  Turn my back on him for one second, and this is what he does.”

          “Eh, no worries, little brother.” Roman waved off, knowing that if there was a way to cause mischief, Dean Ambrose would find it in less than a second.

          “Told you that she sounds hideous.” Dean continued to laugh.

          “Definitely doesn’t sound like my type.” Seth agreed, sitting down on his bed. “How you feeling, brother?  We missed you tonight.”

          “Feel like shit.” Roman sighed, taking inventory. “I was just telling Mr. Ambrose that I’ve been out of it most of the day.  Probably going to pass out again after I get off with you two clowns.  Been camped out in the guestroom; Galina thought it’d be better that way.”

          “Yeah,” Dean nodded, “Don’t want the wife and kid getting sick.”

          “Definitely.” Seth agreed.

          “How’d the match go?” Roman asked, curious about Seth’s opinion.

          “Went great.” Seth replied, looking over at Dean with a teasing smile. “Would have been better if someone would learn how to break a table.”

          “I’m telling you it was a conspiracy!” Dean replied, narrowing his eyes. “The Table Gods had something against me tonight!”

          “Table Gods?” Roman raised an eyebrow.

          “Hey.” Dean warned, “Don’t doubt the mighty Table Gods.  They are very fickle creatures, who smite those that—“

          The brown haired man found himself being interrupted by Seth throwing a pillow in his direction, hitting him in the face.

          “No more beer for you tonight.”

          “How many has he had?” Roman wondered.

          “Just one actually.” Seth replied, dodging the pillow Dean had thrown back in his direction. “And before you ask; yes, he has taken his meds today.”

          “Let’s just chalk it up to you guys having a good night.” Roman shrugged.

          “Not the Shield Reunion that we had planned,” Dean nodded, “Still a good night though, despite the Table Gods cursing me.”

          “At any rate,” Seth said, thinking about debating the existence of Table Gods with Dean but deciding to save it for another time. “Braun had a message that he wanted me to pass on.”

          “Oh, yeah?” Roman replied, his curiosity peaked at what his on-screen worst enemy could possibly have to say.

          “This is a direct quote.” Seth grinned, “Ahem, roses are red.  Violets are blue.  Get well soon, because I’m not finished with you.”

          “Beautiful poem.” Dean remarked as all three men laughed.

          “I’ll have to text him when I feel better.” Roman smiled, wishing that he was sharing the hotel room with Seth and Dean, and not bedridden.  He missed his two surrogate little brothers.

          “You’ll be back before you know it, Big Dog.” Seth replied, picking up on the longing in the other man’s voice.

          “Timing just sucks.” Roman groaned, “Right as we’re about to have our first match back as The Shield, I go down with this crap.” He paused momentarily. “I swear to God, D, if you say anything about this being because I somehow upset the Table Gods—“

          “Oh, no.” Seth moaned, falling back onto his bed. “Now, you’re talking about stupid fucking Table Gods.”

          “I will get out of this bed,” Roman continued as if he hadn’t heard Seth, “fly out to wherever you clowns are, and Superman punch you in the face.”

          “Ha!  Empty threat, big man!” Dean countered, “Number one, they wouldn’t let you fly in your condition, and number two, Vinnie Mac would go nuclear on your ass if you showed up here still sick.”

          “He’s got you there.” Seth said, sitting back up again.

          “Occasionally, he makes sense.” Roman laughed as the door to the room opened.  His wife, Galina, poked her head inside and put a finger to her lips, telling him to quiet down.  An apologetic look immediately shined in Roman’s eyes. “Sorry, baby girl.  It’s Seth and Dean.”

          “Uh oh.” Seth remarked, exchanging a glance with Dean. “Busted.

          “Why you got to throw us under the bus, Big Dog?” Dean exclaimed, “Galina, I swear that we’re innocent!”

          “You’re supposed to resting.” Galina remarked, leaning against the doorframe. “Tell your road wives that you’ll talk to them later.  Otherwise, I might change my mind on that nurses’ outfit I bought the other day and that sponge bath I promised.” A teasing smile appeared on her face. “Believe that.”

          “Now,” Roman smiled back at her, “how am I supposed to rest with THAT image, baby girl?”  

          “Roman,” Seth replied, exchanging glances with Dean. “I swear that if you do NOT hang up with us right now and mess that up, I will—“

          “Don’t worry, little bro.” Roman chuckled, “I may not be feeling 100%, but the brain still works.  Peace out.”

          “Big Dog trying to get him some.” Dean grinned widely after Roman hung up, doing a little dance in his seat. “Nice.”

          “Sounds like he’s in good spirits at least.” Seth nodded.

          “Speaking of spirits,” Dean continued to grin, “You want to hear more about the Table Gods?”

          “Fuck my life.” Seth sighed, falling back against the bed.


	2. Morning Hair

Making sure that the toilet was done flushing completely, Seth Rollins took a deep breath before turning off the light and re-entering the dark, quiet hotel room he was sharing with his two usual roommates.  There was still a few hours before the trio had to get up and he didn’t want to disturb them from their much-needed rest.  He smiled slightly as he crept past the first of the two beds in the room, where Roman Reigns was sprawled out on his stomach, nearly filling the entire bed with his massive frame.  If Seth didn’t know any better, he would have said that someone had pushed his friend from behind and he was just laying where he had fallen.

         

Sitting down on his own bed, Seth looked around for the blankets that he must have kicked off while he was sleeping.   He peered over at the space between his bed and the wall where his other roommate, Dean Ambrose, had made his usual bed on the floor consisting of pillows Roman and Seth didn’t need, plus the spare blanket in the closet and the cushion from a nearby chair.  Seth’s blankets now lay on top of him.  Shaking his head, Seth tried to pick up the blankets, but Dean hardened his grip.

         

“Mine.” Dean said without opening his eyes.

         

“What?” Seth replied, trying unsuccessfully to pull them away.

         

“You didn’t want them, so they’re mine now.” Dean said as if explaining to a small child. “Tough luck, brother.”

         

“I kicked them off while I was sleeping.” Seth shook his head, continuing to play tug-of-war with him. “Give them back.”

         

“Make me.” Dean challenged, finally opening his eyes.

         

“You---“Seth started to say, interrupted by Dean sitting up suddenly and laughing hysterically.  Puzzled, the dark-haired man looked around the room. “What?”

         

“Oh, my God.” Dean squeaked out through his laughter, “Your hair!”

         

“What about it?” Seth asked as movement was heard from the other bed.

         

“The hell is going on?” a half-asleep Roman wondered, barely lifting his head.

         

“Dean’s losing it over my hair.” Seth explained.

         

“It looks fucking crazy!” Dean said through his laughter, tears forming at the corners of his eyes and his mid-section starting to hurt. “Oh, man!   It looks like some animal tried to make a nest in it, but failed!”

         

“You do know that yours isn’t any better, right?” Seth narrowed his eyes, trying to flatten his hair with his hand.

         

“It’s not THAT messed up.” Dean countered, wiping tears from his eyes.

         

“Shut up.” Roman growled in a tone he usually reserved for cutting promos in the ring. “Both of you!”

         

“He started it.” Seth and Dean said in unison.

         

“Oh, hell no.  WAY too early for this shit.” Roman muttered, rolling onto his side that faced away from the pair.  It was only a matter of seconds before Rollins and Ambrose could hear soft snoring coming from him.

         

“How in the hell does he do that?” Dean wondered, finally stopping his laughter.  He handed Seth one of the two blankets that had fallen on him. “I mean, I’ve asked him before, but all he said was that it’s ancient Samoan technique.”

         

“Really?” Seth replied, laying back down. “He told me it was something he learned how to do shortly after JoJo was born.  Either way, we got a few more hours before we have to get up.”

         

“Be a shame to waste it.” Dean nodded, settling back down himself as a momentary silence settled upon the room once more. “Hey, Seth?”

         

“Yeah?”

         

“Imagine how funny your hair would have looked if you still had that stupid blonde streak!”

         

“Go to sleep, Dean.” Seth sighed warily.


	3. Bonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meant to get this up earlier, but ended up getting a case of the stomach flu. 
> 
> Takes place the night of Payback 2017 and is kayfabe compliant.

Payback 2017 aftermath

 

“Damn…Damn it.” Roman Reigns coughed out, grabbing onto his midsection with his injured arm while using his healthy one to steady himself against the nearby wall.  There was the taste of blood in his mouth, but he honestly couldn’t tell if it was because of some injury to the region or, more likely, the internal bleeding he was sure he had.  He knew that he had at least one cracked rib, if not several.

It was hard to judge as there didn’t seem to be an inch on his body that didn’t hurt in some capacity as the adrenaline from the match was starting to wear off.   However, Reigns was determined not to let the medical staff, who he had finally managed to shake off, wheel him out of the arena on a stretcher.  He was not going to let Braun Strowman or all of the fans that had cheered on the beating he had received have the satisfaction!   Not if he had anything to say about it.  He only had to walk a few more steps and he would be back in the locker room.   After that?  Well, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

However, the body let it be known that it had a different idea than the mind as Reigns took a step forward.  He groaned as a fresh wave of pain surged through him, robbing him of the strength to even stand.  Coughing up more blood, he sank to his knees, now holding onto his stomach with both arms.

“No.” Roman begged as a buzzing sound filled his ears and his vision started to go gray around the edges; signs of an approaching darkness that was calling to him.  He thought he could hear footsteps fast approaching him, but he couldn’t look up to see the person they belonged to.

“Roman!” a breathless Seth Rollins exclaimed, sprinting over to his friend, who he had been searching for since the match ended.  Immediately, he knelt down next to the bigger man. “It’s all right, brother.  I’m here.”

“Roll…Rollins?” Roman slurred, looking up at him before the darkness claimed him.

“Damn it.” Seth sighed, catching the now-unconscious Reigns as he fell sideways. Luckily, he could hear what sounded like the medical team finally catching up to the pair. “We need some help over here!”

 

Seth let out a deep breath as he exited the hospital elevator a mere two hours later, headed back to Roman’s room after finally getting his own injuries looked at.  He would be fine; just the normal bumps and bruises that came with a pro wrestling match.  The man who had become like an older brother to him, however, was looking at more serious injuries.  On the plus side, Roman had woken up in the ambulance on the way to the hospital (Seth had ridden with them) and the doctors said that there was no reason that he shouldn’t make a full recovery given time and rest.  Still, it was rare to see the Big Dog, as Seth liked to call him, in such a state.  There weren’t too many people on the roster that could do what had been done to him.

Seth was immediately jarred out of his thoughts as he opened the door to Roman’s hospital room.  Reigns was asleep like he had been when Seth had left, but there was a very familiar person standing next to his bed with his back towards Rollins.

“You got here quick.” Seth remarked, prompting the other man to turn around.

“Jumped on the first flight from Vegas after I saw what happened.” Dean Ambrose shrugged casually, trying to disguise his disgust upon seeing Seth. “After that, drove a little bit faster than Roman would approve of to get here.”

Saying nothing, Seth merely nodded, not surprised by the icy tone in Dean’s voice.  The pair had never really been able to work past Seth turning on his Shield brothers the way that Roman and Seth had, and there was still A LOT to be worked out.  However, both men seemed to agree that now was not the time.

“He’s been sleeping the whole time I’ve been here.” Dean remarked, turning back to Roman.

“The doctors said that would be normal.” Seth replied, walking over to the bed. “They’ve got him on some pretty strong painkillers.  He’s got some broken and bruised ribs, as well as some internal bleeding.  They want to keep him at least overnight for observation.  The good news is that he didn’t aggravate his shoulder injury, and he should be fine given time and rest.”

“I’m still going to murder Braun Strowman the next time I see him.” Dean said, clenching both fists.

_This is all wrong_!  Dean thought to himself, _I’m usually the one in the hospital bed, and Roman’s the one that’s supposed to be standing guard, waiting for me to wake up._

“You’ll have to save some of him for me.” Seth nodded in agreement.

“You really expect me to believe that you give a damn?” Dean shook his head, turning back to Rollins.

“Dean—“Seth started to say but found himself floundering. “Look.  Roman and I talked about everything a little while ago.  He said that he couldn’t forgive me or forget what happened, but that we could move on.”

“I don’t think he ever really gave up on you in the first place.” Dean replied, tapping his fingers nervously against his collarbone. “He really does think of us as his brothers, you know.”

“He’s told me so many times that I’ll always be his little brother.” Seth nodded, smiling slightly. “Even when I told him straight to his face that I didn’t deserve it—you know, among other things that I said.”

“That’s definitely Roman.” Dean said, not surprised in the slightest.  However, the cold fury returned to his voice when he next spoke. “But you know damn well that I’m not like him.  I don’t have that same soft spot for brotherhood like he does.  So, while he might be willing to overlook everything you’ve done to both of us, I’m not.”

A flash of movement in the hallway caught Seth’s eye as he was about to reply.  He looked over to see a monster of a man, with his arm in a sling, fast approaching the doorway with a nasty smile on his face.

“Oh, shit.” Seth said, his eyes widening. “Tell me that he’s not—“

“What?” Dean raised an eyebrow before following Seth’s line of sight to see Braun Strowman himself standing in the doorway.  A primal growl escaped the Lunatic Fringe as he went to head him off, placing himself in between the doorway and the bed, where Roman continued to sleep on. “Oh, you have some freaking nerve coming here!”

“Not my fault that we were taken to the same hospital, Ambrose.” Strowman replied, turning his attention to the smaller man in front of him. “Didn’t realize that you and Rollins would be here, but I guess I should have known that he’d have his little buddies watching his back.”

“You take another step inside this room—“Dean warned, readying himself for a fight.

“And you WILL regret it!” Seth finished for him, hanging back a few steps just in case Strowman got past Ambrose.   Logically, Rollins knew that he and Ambrose were more than likely no match for the much bigger man, but they had to try to protect their friend.

“Sounds like a challenge.” Strowman smiled, taking a step forward.

“Leave them the hell alone!”

Stunned, Dean and Seth turned their heads to see a very much awake Roman, trying his best to get to his feet while using the IV pole next to his bed for support.  It was obvious that his injured body was not making it easy on him, however, as a sheen of sweat covered his unusually pale skin, and his breathing was erratic.  However, his dark eyes blazed with the same fury he had displayed in the ring earlier.

 “Leave Seth and Dean alone.” he repeated, trying to mask the pain he felt radiating throughout his entire body, the fact that the room was currently spinning around him, and the fact that his legs seem to be struggling to stay upright. “This is between you and me, Strowman.  No one else!”

“Still trying to be Superman?” Braun chuckled as he shook his head, “Can you get any more pathetic, Reigns?”

“Back down, you two.” Roman said, deciding to try a different tactic while not taking his eyes off of Strowman. “I appreciate it, but this is my fight.”

 “Sorry, Uce.” Dean replied, glancing back at Roman as he cracked his knuckles. “But like Hell am I going to let this bastard get away with everything!”

“We’ve got your back, Roman.” Seth glared at Strowman.  Out of the corner of his eye, the dark-haired man could see hospital security approaching and a feeling of relief washed over him.

“I just came to give you a message, Big Dog.” Strowman replied as if he hadn’t heard Dean or Seth with the last two words pronounced sarcastically. “I meant what I said back in the arena: I’m not finished with you yet.  Not as long as you can still walk.”

“I’ll show you not finished!” Dean exclaimed, shaking with anger as Strowman turned and walked away, being tailed closely by hospital security. “Get your bearded ass back here!  I’m talking to you, Strowman!”

“Roman?” Seth said as a groaning Reigns weakly fell back on to the bed, trying to catch his breath.  There was a grayish tinge to his clammy skin that concerned the other man.  Immediately, the Architect ran over, and grabbed Reign’s legs, helping him into the sitting/laying position he had been in. “Easy, Big Dog.”  

“Thanks, little brother.” Roman smiled at Rollins, who had started repositioning the pillows the nurses had placed alongside him to help with his ribs.   Dean was still pacing back and forth like a madman muttering something about Strowman and payment, and Roman wasn’t sure if he was seriously thinking about going after him or just trying to calm down. “Let him go, D.  It’s not worth it.”

“Not worth it?  No one beats the crap out of my Samoan and gets away with it!” Dean replied, turning towards his friend.  Seth swore that the other man’s blue eyes fell upon him momentarily: a clear reminder that he was included in that warning. “Not while I can still do something about it!”

“I appreciate it, Uce.” Roman nodded, realizing that if roles were reversed, he’d be the same way. “But Strowman is mine, and he WILL pay.  Believe that!”  A smile crossed his face. “Besides, I don’t want to see you kicked out of here when you came all this way to see me.”

“Fine.” Dean said reluctantly, making a note to deal with Strowman another day. “How are you doing anyway?  You look like hell!”

“Feel like it.” Roman winced.

“Want me to get a nurse?” Seth asked, “I think you’re about due for some more pain meds anyway.”

“Nah, I’m good.” Roman waved off, feeling embarrassed about being the one who needed taken care of.  He was much more comfortable being the one who took care of the others. “Thanks anyway, bro.  When did you get here anyway, D?”

“Well, I was watching Payback at home,” Dean smiled, folding his arms across his chest. “And I saw this guy that looked like my good buddy, Roman Reigns, refusing to cooperate with the medical team.  But, I knew that it couldn’t be Roman Reigns because he’s the same guy that always gives me grief about not following the medical team’s advice.  So, I decided to fly out here and see who this imposter was.”

“So, how long is Roman Reigns going to hear about this?” Roman chuckled, exchanging glances with Seth.  His ribs registering their displeasure at the motion.

“Dean Ambrose thinks that he won’t mention it at all if Roman Reigns buys the beer for the next month or two.” Dean replied.

“Seth Rollins finds that agreeable.” Seth grinned.

A moment of uneasy silence fell upon the room as Dean simply looked at Seth; his expression unreadable.  Seth mentally cursed himself for getting caught up in the moment, and acting like the Shield was back together.

“Yeah, that works.” Dean finally said with a smile, “Add buying Princess’ fancy microbrews onto that as well.”

“Deal.” Roman smiled back, happy to see the first signs of the ice between the two men at his bedside was starting to melt.


	4. Rankings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. This one was a bear to write! I kept changing the ending. Sorry, it took so long.

RANKINGS

“I’m back!” Seth announced, walking through the doorway of the hotel room that he was supposed to be sharing with Roman that night.  He had been in the New Day’s room, recording an episode of UpUpDownDown with Xavier Woods.  He paused immediately in his tracks upon seeing a certain someone on his bed. “What the—“

“Welcome home, sweetie!” Dean greeted through a mouthful of pizza, laying casually on Seth’s bed the wrong way so that his head was where his feet should be.

“What are you—“Seth asked, looking between Dean and Roman, who was relaxing on his own bed; leaning up against the headboard with one arm tucked behind his head and a beer bottle in the other hand. “What is he doing here?  I thought he was sharing a room with Renee tonight.”

“He is.” Roman nodded reassuringly, “But she’s currently having a girls’ night out with some of the other ladies, so she asked if we would watch him until she got back.”

“Stop making it sound like I’m a goddamned child.” Dean growled, throwing Seth’s pillow at Roman. “I don’t NEED babysitting!”

“Stop acting like one, and yes, you do.” Roman smiled back at him, easily dodging the pillow.  He nodded towards the lone table in the room, ignoring the fact that Dean was now raising his middle finger at him. “Saved you some pizza and beer if you’re up for it, Seth.”

“Yeah, REAL man beer.” Dean added, catching the pillow as Roman tossed it back at him. “I didn’t get any of that fancy-schmancy microbrew stuff you usually drink.”

“Whatever.” Seth sighed before noticing pizza crumbs all over his bed as Dean moved.  He walked over to inspect the damage. “Ugh!  Look at this!  Ambrose, you got crumbs all over my bed!”

“Uh, we also neglected to get napkins.” Dean teased with a guilty look on his face, “So, I may have had to improvise with the bedspread.”

“You did what?” Seth exclaimed, examining the blanket as both Dean and Roman laughed.  Realizing that he had been joking, Rollins lightly punched Dean in the arm. “You are such an asshole.  You know that?”

“Yeah, but I’m also freaking adorable.” Dean said through his laughter. “You know you love me.”

“And you!” Seth turned on Roman, who was still smiling. “I thought we agreed not to encourage him!”

“Sorry, man.” Roman replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “Couldn’t resist.”

“Don’t blame Uce.” Dean added, rolling over onto his stomach. “He’s in a very good mood tonight!  Just got off a video chat with Galina.”

“Oh, talked to the wifey.” Seth nodded knowingly as Roman just continued to smile. “Nice.”

“More than talked.” Dean grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. “About halfway through, he decided that he needed to take it into the bathroom for privacy reasons.”

“Ah!” Seth teased as Roman started to blush. “One of THOSE kind of chats, huh?”

“Not going to confirm or deny that.” Roman replied, suddenly unable to look at Dean or Seth.

“Don’t have to.” Dean continued to grin, doing a little dance while still laying on his stomach. “I know what I overheard!”

“Big Dog just couldn’t wait until the next time he got home.” Seth nodded, chuckling at just how red the Samoan man was turning.

“Shut up.” Roman muttered as Dean and Seth laughed.

“Hey, while I was hanging out with Woods,” Seth said, deciding to change the subject before Roman could murder him and/or Dean. “The final rankings for WWE2K18 came out.”

“Rankings?” Dean repeated, having no interest in video games. “What rankings?”

“They give everyone a score out of 100.” Seth explained before smiling at Roman. “Guess who the highest rate current superstar is this year with a 95?”

“Ah, man.” Roman smiled back, again slightly embarrassed.

“Of course, it’s our Samoan Badass.” Dean replied, beaming with pride at his friend. “Could it be anyone else?  Good job, brother.”

“Thanks.” Roman said, thinking about his usual crowd reaction. “And I can already hear the booing.”  

“Eh, gives them something new to hate about you.” Dean shrugged, rolling over onto his back and letting his head drop over the edge of the bed. “Anyway, who cares what they think?”

“Cena and Lesnar both got a 93.  I got 92.” Seth said, looking at the list on his phone. “So, you’re not THAT far ahead of everyone.”

“See?  I would have given you the 93 and given those two part-timers a lower rank.” Roman remarked before taking a drink of the beer in his hand. “That right there is bullshit.”

“What did I get?” Dean raised a curious eyebrow.

“Would you sit up?  All the blood is going to rush straight to your head.” Roman scolded.

“You’re not my dad, Uce.” Dean fired back, giving him a middle finger for the second time that night.  “My score, Rollins?”

“You got an 88.” Seth reported.

“What?” Dean exclaimed, getting up off the bed and into a standing position in one swift motion. “What?  I didn’t even crack the 90s?  What kind of bullshit is that?”

“Calm down, D.” Roman shook his head, “I swear that they pull these numbers out of their –“

“Easy for you to say, Mr. 95!” an upset Dean interrupted, staring at Rollins. “Who else outranked me?  I demand names!”

“Well, Jinder, Owens, Samoa Joe, and Strowman also got an 88.” Seth sighed, suddenly wishing that he had not brought the topic up.

“I got the same rank as Kevin Freaking Owens?” Dean shouted, gesturing wildly with his hands. “Are you kidding me?  That’s just…well, it’s insulting is what it is!”

“Braun only got an 88?” Roman raised an eyebrow, more and more convinced that the numbers on the list were chosen at random. “You sure that it’s not a misprint?”

“Only?” Dean scoffed, glaring at Roman.

“Doesn’t appear to be.” Seth shook his head before smiling at Roman. “I imagine that you two will have a lovely conversation about it during your match tomorrow night.”

“Eh, I was going to get thrown around anyway.” Roman chuckled with a shrug. “Might as well give him incentive.”

“Now, this is interesting!” Seth said, glancing down at his phone again. “Balor got an 88 like Dean, but the Demon King earned a 92.”

“Oh, come on!” Dean rolled his eyes, opening another beer. “They’re the same goddamned, way too skinny person!”

 “Nakamura got an 89.”

“I can accept that one.” a more relaxed Dean nodded.

“Styles got a 90.”

“Stupid Mr. Soccer-Mom Haircut.” Dean grumbled before taking a drink. “Owens same rank as me, and Styles ahead of me?  Absurd!”

“You can’t take it too seriously, man.” Seth shook his head, unable to help but smile at the other man’s over the top reaction. “It’s just for the video game!”

“I should track them both down and punch them in their stupid faces.” Dean continued to say as if he didn’t hear Seth.  He also started pacing around the room. “Then, I’ll find Mr. Demon King and shove a carb or two down his throat!  Nakamura’s cool, so I’m not going to do anything to him.”

“Guess what we get to listen to until Renee picks him up?” Roman smiled at Seth. “We get to listen to D plot his revenge against everyone that got the same or better rank than him.”

“Great.” Seth rolled his eyes, grabbing a beer. “I’m going to need a couple of these.”  

“Not going to do anything to you, Rome,” Dean continued, still ignoring them. “Because you’re my brother and I love you.”

“And you know that I’d kill you.” Roman nodded, raising his beer to Dean.

“You, on the other hand, Mr. Crossfit Jesus!” Dean said, turning physically towards Seth.

“What?” a confused Seth replied, looking between Roman and Dean. “Aren’t I also your brother?”

“You are.  Unfortunately, I can only save one of you from my righteous vengeance and I choose Roman.” Dean explained with a shake of his head. “I’ll need my Samoan Badass for when I go after Braun.  He can either help me beat him down, or, if the shit hits the fan…which it often does in my life, he can provide a distraction while I make a run for it.”

“So much wrong with that.” Roman also shook his head, “I don’t even know where to begin with it.”

“What?” Dean shrugged, looking at Roman. “Shit hits the fan quite a bit in my life!  I think that we can all agree that that is a true statement.”

“Oh, I agree with that part of it, D.” Roman laughed in response, interrupted by a knock on the door. “Renee back early?”

“Nope.” Dean said, opening the door after looking through the peep hole. “What do you want?”

“What the hell kind of greeting is that?” Finn Balor replied, walking past Dean into the room.  He tossed a pair of earbuds at Seth with a smile. “Just came to give you these back.  Thanks again for letting me borrow them.”

“No problem, man.” Seth replied, catching them. “Always glad to help a brother out and don’t mind Ambrose.  He’s just upset about his 2K18 ranking and threatening everyone who got the same or better ranking than him.”

“Think he mentioned something about jamming a carb down your throat.” Roman added with a grin.

“Ugh.” Finn said, putting a hand to his head. “Even after I’ve explained to him that I DO eat them?”

“How the hell does the Demon King count as a separate person?” Dean demanded, narrowing his eyes at Finn. “It’s not right.”

“It’s the whole Superman/Clark Kent dynamic.” Finn shrugged, slightly amused. “Besides, it’s not like I got the highest ranking.” He nodded his head at Roman. “Congratulations on that, big man.”

“Ah, yessir.” Roman nodded back.

“Still not right.” Dean muttered, shaking his head. “Someone, find me a carb!”

“Would you knock it off?” Seth growled, turning towards Dean. “You’re being rude!  It’s not like Finn was the one that came up with the list!”

“Be a lot different if I did.” Finn replied, a mischievous grin creeping across his face. “For one thing, 88 seems like a little high for ASSbrose here.”

“Oh, you son of a…” Dean exclaimed, starting towards the other man.  He was only stopped by Roman getting up and grabbing him from behind. “Let me go!  I want to cram that smirk right down his throat along with a carb!”

“I couldn’t resist poking the bear.” Finn shrugged, looking at Seth.

“It’s cool, man.” Seth waved off, watching Dean trying desperately to escape Roman’s grasp as a knock was heard on the wall from the next room.

“KEEP IT DOWN OVER THERE!” a gruff man’s voice shouted.

“WHY DON’T YOU COME OVER HERE AND MAKE US!” Dean shouted back, prompting Roman to suddenly go still. “Uce?  What’s up?”

“You seriously didn’t recognize that voice?” Seth answered for Roman, exchanging looks with a horrified Finn.

“No.” a confused Dean shook his head, “Should I?  Was it one of the boys?”

“I’ll handle this.” Roman sighed, heading to the door and shaking his own head while muttering. “Freaking Ambrose.  Going to get me killed one of these days!  Probably right now!”

“Oh, we are so dead.” Seth whimpered.

“Are you just going to stare or you going to answer my question?” Dean wondered, looking at Finn and Seth as he heard the door open. “Who in the hell is it?”

“Hey.” Roman greeted with his usual charming tone, “Sorry about the noise.  We…”

“Move.” The Undertaker interrupted, causing Dean’s eyes to go wide with fear.

“Yes, sir.” Roman replied meekly, doing as he was told.

“How in the hell was I supposed to know HE was here?” Dean whispered to Seth before the tall, older man stopped right in front of him. “Isn’t he retired?”

“You the one causing all this noise, Ambrose?” Taker demanded, looking at him straight in the eye.

“Yeah. I mean yes, sir.” Dean squeaked out, a mixture of fear and respect for the man in front of him filling his entire body.  He couldn’t really remember being yelled at by his father when he was a child, but he imagined that it felt something like what he was currently feeling.  He suddenly felt unable to look the older man in the eyes. “Sorry, sir.”

Silently, the Undertaker studied the younger man in front of him, who seemed to revert to the 10 year old fanboy inside of him at the sight of the WWE legend.  It often happened with this new generation that was coming up.  A small smile crept across the older man’s face.

“Tell you what.” he said, clapping a hand on Ambrose’s shoulder. “Give me one of your beers and keep it down the rest of the night, and we’ll just forget this ever happened, all right?”

“Yes, sir.” Dean agreed, immediately rushing over to get the beer.

“And in the future,” Taker replied, looking around at the four other men. “Don’t give those kind of lists any attention.  It really is a bunch of bullshit.”  He settled his gaze on Reigns. “Except YOUR ranking, kid.  95 is the bare minimum I’ll accept from the person now running my yard, understand?  Fall below it next year, and I’ll have to come back and kick your ass.”

“You’re welcome to try.” Roman smiled back at him.

“Roman.” Seth hissed, “I don’t care if you did retire him.  You don’t say those kind of things to HIM.”

“Don’t worry.” Taker waved off, taking one of the beers from Dean. “I’ve got one of his family members on speed dial, and I’m sure that he’d be interested in hearing about that little remark.”

“I think he’s busy filming a movie somewhere.” Roman chuckled, knowing who the older man was talking about. “But it never seems to stop him.”

“Hey, guys.” Renee greeted, walking in. “Your door wasn’t closed all the way, so I…oh.”

“I think that’s my cue to leave.” The Undertaker smiled, heading towards the door. “Remember to keep it down over here.” He paused briefly by Renee and nodded his head. “Ma’am.”

“That…that was the Undertaker.” Renee said, pulling herself back together as the door closed behind the Dead Man. “Why…why was he here?”

“Uh,” Dean started to explain, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, you see, Seth got a little upset about his ranking for WWE2K18, and wouldn’t shut up about it.  You know him, babe!  Has to be a drama queen and throw a big fit over some random number.”

“That is so not what happened.” Seth muttered before Roman elbowed him in the ribs to silence him.


	5. Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There might be a sequel to this chapter later on. I'm not sure yet.

“How’d I know that Uce would already be in the water?” a chuckling Seth asked, setting the cooler he had been carrying down by Dean, who was lounging in one of the three beach chairs on the sand.

Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns had made it to their next tour stop a day early and had decided as a group to spend that extra time enjoying the nearby coastline.

“I barely got him to set his bag and shoes down first.” Dean chuckled, watching his surrogate big brother splash around in the ocean like a little kid. “You know, in a weird way, it’s actually kind of adorable how he turns into an overgrown 5 year old kid when we get around a beach.”

“I’m surprised.  You’re usually right there in the water with him.” Seth replied, taking off his shirt. “Not feeling it today?”

“Nah, I’ll probably go join him here in a bit.” Dean said, casually folding his arms behind his head. “Right now, I want to just lay here and soak up the sunshine.  Noticed that I’m getting a little pale when I watched the replay of the show the other night.”

“Well,” Seth teased, sitting down at the chair at the other end of the row. “I didn’t want to say anything, man, but Sheamus is starting to look tan compared to you.”

“Oh, shut up.” Dean glared at Seth until Roman approached, getting his attention. “Thought you’d be spending the entire time in the water, Aquaman.”

“Water’s still a little cold, so I thought I’d come warm up for a little bit.” Roman shrugged, shivering slightly before picking his towel up off of the middle chair.  After drying his hair, a content sigh escaped Reigns as he sat down with a big smile on his face. “Sun, sand, ocean, good buddies and a couple of cold ones in the cooler?  THIS is exactly what I needed! Ah, yessir!”   

“You spent a lot of time at the beach when you were younger, didn’t you?” Seth smiled, unable to help but notice how happy and relaxed his friend looked.  It was the first time in a long time that one couldn’t tell that, at least Roman felt like, the weight of the WWE rested on his broad shoulders.

“Yeah.” Roman nodded with a fond smile, “It’s what you did when I was in school, man.  You would spend almost every weekend at the beach with your girl if you had one.”

“Well, I’ve always imagined that you had no problem in that area, brother.” Seth nudged him with his elbow, “I bet, even as a teenager, you had to beat the girls off with a stick!”

“I was kind of popular, yeah.” Roman shrugged.

“And did you ever…” Dean asked, wiggling his eyebrows. “You know with one of those girls?”

“How’d I know you guys were going to take it there?” Roman blushed, suddenly unable to look either of his friends in the eye. “Yeah, a few times actually.”

“I knew it.” Dean laughed, exchanging a look with Seth, who was smiling.

“You dog!” Seth remarked, “Does Galina know about this?”

“She was one of them.” Roman admitted, his usual tan cheeks a solid crimson. “The last one actually.”

“Nice.” Seth replied as all three shared a laugh. “Well, you were lucky, Uce.  When I was in school, back in Iowa, we had to make due with taking our girls out to the corn fields.  Not nearly as romantic.”

“Corn fields?” Dean repeated in disbelief before he and Roman cracked up. “Please tell me that you did it!  Please tell me that little Sethie got dirty down in the dirt!”

“Once or twice.” Seth shrugged, prompting both Roman and Dean to howl with laughter. “Like I said, not nearly as romantic and there was always the chance of having to stop and outrun some pissed off farmer with a pitchfork midway through.”

“Oh, my God!” Dean laughed, holding his stomach with one hand and clapping the other on Roman (who was laughing just as hard)’s shoulder. “The mental image!  I can just see your stupid face as you’re running for your life because this guy’s coming after you!  It’s SO good!”   

“Sounds like it should be one of your weird-ass stories, D.” Roman agreed, still chuckling himself but not as hard as Dean.

“Nah.” Dean shook his head, finally able to compose himself after a moment. “See, in my neighborhood, we didn’t have any beaches or corn fields.  You just had to go out the back window before her dad caught you and shimmy down the drainpipe from their third-story apartment. Oh, and you needed to go fast as you could because, more than likely, he had a gun and knew how to use it.” 

“Shimmy down many a drainpipe, did you?” Seth raised an eyebrow.

“Hell no!” Dean grinned, “See, I was smart!  I would hide under their beds until about 3 in the morning and then, I’d go out the front door while her old man was asleep.”

“Of course you did.” Seth chuckled, exchanging a glance with Roman, who wasn’t laughing and looked conflicted. “What’s up, Uce?”

“Well, part of me wants to laugh at that.” Roman smiled, “But the Dad in me is now screaming at me to set up a security camera under JoJo’s bed.”

“And don’t allow her to go to the beach without supervision.” Seth added.

“Or corn fields for that matter.” Dean snorted, prompting Roman to laugh.

“In fact, how about we just don’t let her leave the house without supervision until she’s 35.” Seth replied with a nod.

“And any boy has to meet the Uncle Seth and Uncle Dean standards of excellence.” Dean said, turning towards Roman. “By the way, I STILL want details on that kid she told me about the other day!”

“She’s been hanging around this boy in her class lately.” Roman explained to Seth, “Tyler is his name, I think.  He’s also in her karate class.”

“Ooh, Tyler.” Seth winced, “Sounds like trouble already.”

“Seriously, Uce.” Dean continued to say, “Whatever you can get me on this kid.  Address, family life, criminal history, etc.”

“Criminal history?” Roman shook his head, “He’s 9 freaking years old, man!”

“Can still have a criminal history.” Dean shrugged, “But if you want your daughter hanging around some little deviant who robs candy stores, then that’s on you.”

“Do they even have candy stores anymore?” Seth wondered, prompting Dean to stare at him like he had grown another head. “What?”

“I hate to quote the Miz, but really?  Really, Sethie?” Dean exclaimed, “That’s what you’re focusing on in this conversation?  The existence of candy stores?  All the while, there’s a little miscreant running around, trying to corrupt our adorable niece?”  

“So, Big Dog,” Seth asked, deciding to change the subject. “What’s it like?  Sex on the beach?”

“Well, it’s all right.” Roman shrugged, a teasing grin on his face. “I mean, you know I’m more of a beer guy, but I’m not going to turn down a cocktail if someone puts it in front of me.”

“You walked right into that one.” Dean smiled, looking at Seth.

“Yeah, I did, didn’t I?” Seth admitted with a nod, lightly punching a chuckling Roman in the arm. “You know what I meant, jackass.  You’ve been hanging around Dean too much!”

“Hey!” Dean exclaimed.

“Well, it’s really not as pleasant as you boys might think.” Roman said, scratching the side of his face in embarrassment. “Sand gets in places you’d rather not have it get into, you know?”

“Yikes.” Dean winced before shaking his head. “Renee was talking about it the other day, but definitely going to have to tell her that that’s out now.”

“That actually came up in conversation?” a stunned Seth replied, “How?”

“You don’t talk about things like that with your—“ Dean started to ask before he remembered that Seth was currently single. “Hand?”

“Ooh.” Roman winced as Seth narrowed his eyes at Dean. “Bit harsh there, Deano.”

“What?” Dean replied, spreading his arms out innocently. “I’ll have you know that I have had GREAT conversations with my hand before!”

“Believe that.” Roman replied, nudging Seth before getting to his feet. “Going to head back into the water for a while.  Might go check out that surfboard rental place down the way.”

“You can surf, Uce?” Seth asked, prompting Roman to nod his head. “I never knew that.”

“Yeah, Matt taught me when I was like 5, I think.” Roman smiled, thinking about his recently deceased older brother. “I think he got tired of me begging him to every time I got him to take me with him.  Some of the best times I had with him were out there on the water, man.  Even when he made it to the big time and was busy on the road, he made sure that he spent at least a little time with me out there when he was home.”  A sigh escaped the dark-haired man and he turned his gaze towards the ocean. “Haven’t been to a beach since he passed actually.  Reminds me just how much I miss him.” A moment of silence passed among the three friends before the tall, dark-haired Samoan man turned back to the other two with an apologetic smile. “Sorry.  That was kind of a buzzkill moment, wasn’t it?”

“Hey, Roman.” Dean wondered after another moment of uneasy silence among the three. “You think you could teach me how to?  I’ve wanted to learn how to surf since I was a kid, but, you know, growing up in Ohio and all, I never got the chance.”

“Be more than happy to, D.” Roman smiled.


	6. Guilt

Takes place the day after the December 18, 2017 Raw a.k.a. the day Dean apparently had surgery on his arm.

Kayfabe Compliant

 

“Ugh.  I’m sleeping!” Dean promised with a growl, keeping his eyes closed as he heard the door to his hospital room open again and someone walking in.  He knew that there was a damn good reason why he avoided hospitals at all costs!  These pesky nurses wouldn’t let him wander around like he wanted to, but also seemed to want to wake him up every 15 minutes or so when he did finally give in and relax. “See?  Being a good little boy and staying in bed just like you want!  Do I get a freaking cookie or something?”

“Me wanting you to be a good little boy and stay in bed?” his visitor repeated with a laugh, prompting Dean to immediately open his eyes.  He knew that laugh (and its owner) well and usually did whatever he could to prompt it. “I’m not touching that one.  No, sir.”

“Uce!” Dean smiled, looking at the tall, broad shouldered man now standing at his bedside. “What in the hell are you doing here?”

“Eh,” Roman casually shrugged, “This place is only a two and a half hour drive from my place, so…”

“So, three hours the way you drive?” Dean teased.

“Ah, whatever, man.” Roman shook his head, reaching over and ruffling Dean’s hair. “You know, I used to be the same way you are, but the minute they put JoJo in my arms for the first time, the ability to push that gas pedal down to the floor just vanished!  It’ll happen to you one of these days.”

“Keep dreaming.” Dean replied with a grin, which soon turned into a frown. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, brother, but what ARE you doing here?  You’re supposed to be on vacation this week, and you already got JoJo’s birthday party, early Christmas with the family, AND your belated anniversary on your plate.  You didn’t need to take the time to come see me.”

“I know that I didn’t NEED to, Deano.” Roman replied, looking around for a chair. “I wanted to!  You are my best friend after all.”  He spotted a nearby closet. “You going to freak out on me if I grab the folding chair from the closet?”

“Nah.” Dean waved off, “You aren’t Seth so I shouldn’t have flashbacks.”

“Yeah, I am definitely not Cross Fit Jesus.” Roman laughed, setting the chair up by Dean’s bedside before sitting down. “How’d surgery go?”

“It went fine.” Dean nodded his head towards his now wrapped up elbow. “But the docs are still trying to figure out how long I’ll be out.  They did say that the Rumble is definitely out since it’s too short of a time.” A deep sigh escaped him as he remembered the bad news the doctor had given him earlier that day. “Worst case scenario?  I’m out until Summerslam at the very least.”

“Damn.  That’s what?  9 months?” Roman winced before shaking his head and lowering his gaze to the floor. “I’m sorry, Dean.”

“Eh, not your fault.” Dean waved off.

“Yeah, it is.” Roman insisted, not looking up.

“What?  What do you…?” Dean started to ask before the realization of why the slightly older man was here hit him. “Oh, my God.  That’s WHY you’re here, isn’t it?  You feel like you need to apologize to me?”

“Yeah.” Roman admitted, prompting Dean’s healthy hand to find its way to its owner’s forehead.

“This isn’t your fault and you know it.” Dean groaned, shaking his head.

“You’re wrong.” Roman shook his own head, finally looking up at Dean. “Joe doesn’t have beef with you, man.  His issue is with me!  He only targeted you because he knew damn well that taking out you and/or Seth would get to me.”

“Regardless of what Vinnie Mac might think, the world doesn’t revolve around you, Uce.” Dean sighed, dropping his hand from his forehead.  A small smile crept its way across his face as he stared at his best friend. “Come on, man!  You know me!  I like to run my mouth and, sometimes, it doesn’t work out in my favor and I get my ass handed to me.  Maybe I said something that Joe took offense to?  But, you know, even if you’re right and he attacked me because he’s got beef with you, you know damn well how things work with you and me!  If someone’s got beef with you, then they have beef with me!  That’s how you and I roll, have rolled and will continue to roll.”  He paused momentarily before shrugging his shoulders. “And I guess you can throw Seth in there too if you want now that the Shield is back together.”

“Mess with one of the hounds, get all three of us.” Roman nodded, “Yeah, that’s exactly what Seth said when I called and talked to him last night.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe you’re making me say this,” Dean groaned, “But you should have listened to him, brother.  Occasionally, our dear Princess does have the right answer.”

“Even a broken clock is right twice a day.” Roman shrugged before shaking his head again and letting out a deep breath. “I guess that I just feel guilty about what happened to you, Deano.  I keep telling myself that I should have been there to be protect you.”

“No, you were exactly where you needed to be.” Dean replied firmly, mentally shaking his head at his best friend feeling like he always had to play the protector.  It was something both infuriating and endearing to Ambrose. “You weren’t there because you took some much needed time off to spend time with your wife, and my niece and two baby nephews.  No way in hell should you feel guilty about that!  Also, you need to quit thinking that you have to protect me all of the damn time!  Despite how I may act sometimes, I’m a grown man, brother, and I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.  Alright?”

“Alright.” Roman relented, tucking a stray strand of his dark hair back behind his ear before smiling at the bedridden Ambrose. “I guess that I do take this big brother thing with you and Seth a little too seriously sometimes.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Uce.” Dean smiled back, “It’s not like I don’t appreciate it.  It’s actually been pretty nice to have someone watching my back after being alone since…well, pretty much since I can remember.”

“It’s like I told you before, Deano.  No matter what, you’re always going to be my brother.”

“Believe that?” Dean grinned, holding out his healthy fist.

“Believe that.” Roman nodded, fist-bumping him.


	7. Pride

PRIDE

Set after the February 19, 2018 RAW.  Kayfabe compliant.

 

“Huh?” Seth muttered groggily as a dinging noise like one would hear in an elevator brought him back to reality.  No longer feeling the rigid trainers’ bed underneath him, the dark-haired man was puzzled as to where he was.  His eyes feeling still too heavy to open, he would have to rely on his other senses to figure it out.  Judging by his sense of touch, he would have to guess that someone was carrying him piggyback style as they walked forward, their muscular arms wrapped tightly around his legs and his face resting against their shoulder.  The smell of coconut filled his nostrils as he took a breath.

Wait.  Coconut?

“Waking up on me back there?” the person’s deep, friendly voice asked as Seth slowly opened his eyes.

“What’s going on, Roman?” he replied sleepily, seeing the hallway of their hotel pass by as Roman walked, indeed carrying Seth piggyback style on his back.

“You passed out hard in the trainers’ room.” Roman explained, continuing to walk. “And I mean Ambrose hard, brother!  Whenever anyone would wake you up, you just kept going back to sleep.  Dr. Amann couldn’t find anything wrong with you other than mild physical exhaustion, so Trips told me to get you back here and make sure that you took it easy the rest of the night.” 

 “Oh, man.” Seth groaned, slightly embarrassed. “Everyone probably thinks that I’m dying or something.”

“Nah, everyone understands that you had a rough night.” Roman shook his head as the pair finally arrived at their room.  To Seth’s surprise, he knocked on the door instead of getting his key card out. “Cena and Finn helped me get you into the car, and Finn said that he’d grab our bags for us.  Also…”

“You made it!” a blonde-haired woman said as she opened the door and stepped aside to let them enter. “Did you carry him the entire way up here?”

“Ok, why is Renee in our hotel room?” a confused Seth asked before noticing that his bed had been turned down for him.

“I did.” Roman grinned at Renee, setting Seth down on his bed. “I’ve actually had plenty of practice carrying your husband’s drunk ass back to the hotel room after a night out.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Renee smiled, covering Seth with the blankets.

“And to answer your question, Roll,” Roman continued, turning towards him. “Renee is here, because…well, when you get around to looking at your phone, brother, you’ll see that certain someone has been blowing it up all night.”

“If it’s anything like mine and Roman’s anyway.” Renee giggled, handing Roman back his keycard.  She nodded her head at the nightstand between the two beds. “Oh, Sasha and Bayley dropped off that Gatorade for you, Seth.  Said that it should help.”  A buzzing noise was heard coming from her purse, forcing her to groan. “I didn’t pick it up the first 50 times he’s called.  What makes him think that I’ll pick up now?  I guess that’s my cue to retreat to my own room and fill him in.”

“Make sure that you tell him that if he calls me or Seth again tonight,” Roman chuckled, “I will Superman punch him in a certain area that is nowhere near his face.”

“After I curb stomp him.” Seth added with a smile.

“Will do.” Renee replied with a mock salute before leaning down on giving Seth a quick kiss on the cheek. “You just some rest, all right?  I know that I speak for Dean when I say that we’re both proud of you.”

“Thanks.” Seth smiled back at her.

“I’ll walk you to the door, baby girl.” Roman said, wrapping an arm around her. “Thanks again for your help.”

“Not a problem.” Renee waved off as they walked to the door. “Did you want me to call Galina for you?”

“Nah, I already texted her that I’d call her tomorrow.” Roman replied, “You tell that lunatic husband of yours that I’ll also call him tomorrow morning, all right?”

“Will do.” Renee said, walking out into the hallway. “Good night.”

“Night!” Roman repeated before closing the door and walking back into the main room.  Seth hadn’t moved from his bed. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Embarrassed.” Seth shook his head, still smiling. “I mean everyone’s making a big deal out of nothing really!  I’m just tired.  You didn’t have to carry me all the way up here like that, Big Dog.”  

“Well, if it makes you feel better,” Roman said, shrugging his shoulders and sitting down on the other bed in the room. “Because I did carry you all that way, I’m not going to do any dead lifts tomorrow at the gym.”

“Good.” Seth said before taking inventory of himself. “Other than that, I still feel tired and a little sore, but nothing that feels like it won’t go away before Sunday.”

“Well, you just wrestled your heart out for an hour and five minutes.” Roman pointed out, “Hell, someone calculated it out and that’s more than Lesnar wrestled all of last year.  Proud of you, little brother!”

“Thanks.” Seth replied, looking at the other man. “But you know that it takes at least two people to make it work, right?  Had a good time out there with you, Uce.  Thought for sure that you had me a few times.”

“Warned you that I’d bring my A game, didn’t I?” Roman nodded, “Knew you’d bring yours too because that’s how we do it!”

“Every time.” Seth agreed, “We go out there and burn it all down!  What’s that thing you like to say?  Yes, sir?”

“Ah, yessir!  Yessir!” Roman laughed before staring straight into Seth’s eyes. “I AM extremely proud of you, Seth!  You went out there tonight and showed the entire fucking world that you ARE indeed the man!  Not that anyone should have been doubting that in the first place.”

“Thanks, Big Dog.” a blushing Seth nodded, “It means a lot to me to hear you say that.”

“Well, it’s the gospel truth, man!” Roman replied, “You really are one of, if not the, best around!  You’re on a level that I can only dream about being on and will never achieve.”

“Now that is not true.” Seth rolled his eyes, “Come on, man!  You…”

“Hold on!  I’m not finished.” Roman said with a smile, “Now I know that you don’t believe in religion and all of that, but I want you to know that there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t thank God for meeting you and Dean, and having us all become brothers.  Both of you guys have taught me so much in and out of the ring.”  

“I’m thankful that we met on this crazy road called life too, Roman.” Seth smiled, looking at the man in front of him, who he considered as much of a big brother as he did his own flesh and blood. “Life would definitely be different if you and Ambrose weren’t around.”

“Yeah, it definitely would be.” Roman agreed, “All right, enough of this gooey emotional stuff before we both lose our man cards!  I’m going to hit the shower.  You just get some sleep, all right?  Seth?  Seth?”  

Looking over, the Samoan man could see that the other man had fallen into a deep sleep.  A smile crept over his face as he adjusted the covers for him.

“Sweet dreams, little brother.   You earned them.”


	8. Relationships

RELATIONSHIPS

_Thank you to Shanynde, who wanted to see something where Dean tells the other two that he and Renee got married.  Hope you enjoy it!_

“So, Renee and I got married a few days ago.”

“What?” Seth exclaimed in surprise, his foot slamming down on the brakes of the car. The vehicle coming to a complete and sudden stop.  Seth’s wide eyes stared at the auburn haired man in the passenger seat before a primal growl came from the back.

“Damn it, Rollins!” Roman spat, rubbing his forehead where it had slammed against the back of Dean’s seat.  Having been fast asleep, he had had no time to brace himself when Seth stopped the car. “What in the hell did you stop for?”

“Because I swear that Ambrose just said that he got married to Renee a few days ago.” Seth replied, gesturing to Dean with one hand and guiding the car to the side of the road with the other.

“Motherfucker.” Roman grumbled, checking his hand for blood.

“I did.” Dean nodded, rummaging through Seth’s backpack, looking for some sort of snack. “Thought you guys should know!”

“And you thought that 11:30 at night while we’re driving down some deserted highway in the middle of nowhere was the right time to drop that bomb?” Seth raised an eyebrow, grabbing his backpack away from Dean and tossing it in the seat behind him.

“Yeah.” Dean casually shrugged his shoulders, “Well, tell you anyway!  Uce was still asleep back there when I said it, so…”  

“Sometimes,” Seth shook his head, “Sometimes, Ambrose, I wonder how that brain of yours operates.” With a sigh, he glanced in the rear view mirror. “You all right, Big Dog?”

“Yeah.” Roman waved off, “You know us Samoans and our hard heads, brother.  Just wasn’t the best wake up call.”  He smiled as he passed a half empty bag of beef jerky up to Dean. “You and Nee actually did it, huh?  Congratulations, bro!  You go to one of those 24/7 wedding chapels in Vegas?”

“Nah, we had it in the backyard at like 1 am.” Dean replied as Seth directed the car back onto the road. “Called some of our friends and an all-hours pastor and boom!  Got it done!  Blue was my best man…well, dog.”

“That sounds like the most Dean Ambrose style wedding you could have had.” Seth laughed, “Congratulations, man!”

“Thanks.” Dean smiled, “I mean it wasn’t, you know, a destination wedding on a cruise ship that was like 10 years in the making, but…”

“All right, all right.” Roman replied, putting a hand up at the reference to his own wedding. “It was everything Galina wanted and you and I both know that she deserved that much for putting up with my dumb ass for as long as she has.  Plus, you know, it was a Disney cruise, so JoJo enjoyed it too.”  A smile crossed his face as he thought about his wife and daughter. “That’s my job, isn’t it?  Do what I can to make both of my girls happy?”  

“Yep.” Dean nodded before turning to Seth with a huge grin on his face. “So, let’s see here…”

“Don’t even start!” Seth warned, not taking his eyes off of the road. “I’m serious, Ambrose!  I don’t want to hear it.”

“I’m just saying, man!” Dean continued to smile, holding his arms out innocently. “Uce is married and now I’m married.  That just leaves you, baby bro!”

“Yeah, remind me not to tell my mom about you and Renee.” Seth shook his head, “She’s already on my case about finding a nice girl and settling down.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything, Uce,” Roman winced slightly for his friend, “But you should know that she’s got my mom involved now.  Keeps asking me if you’ve found yourself a girl yet and wants me to tell you that she knows a couple of girls at her church that would be perfect for you.”

“We should have never let Shield Moms become a thing.” Seth chuckled.

“Speaking of moms, mine seemed happy when I told her.” Dean shrugged.

“You told her?” Seth raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, you know that we’ve been working on our relationship, right?” Dean nodded, “Nee and I had lunch with her the last time we were in town.  They seemed to get along.  So, I called her the day after we did it.  Told me that she had always hoped that I’d meet someone like Renee.”

“Yeah, you definitely deserve it.” Roman agreed, shifting in his seat.

“Eh, I really don’t, Uce.” Dean argued, glancing back at his friend. “I mean she really is too good for me, but she seems to want to stay, so…”

“Because she sees the same you that the Big Dog and I see.” Seth shook his head, “Don’t be so hard on yourself, man!”

“Believe that!” Roman nodded in agreement, “So, probably too soon, but do you think you and Nee will have kids one of these days?”

“I don’t know, man.” Dean replied after taking a drink of water. “I mean, we agreed that right now, we’re both too busy to look after anything besides Blue.  We have talked about it though, and she definitely wants them, but I’m not sure about it, you know?” He paused momentarily. “What about you and Gal?  You planning on having any more?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Roman chuckled, “Man, Lina wanted like 12 kids when we first met!”

“Jesus.” Seth winced.

“Yeah, I’m hoping that I’ve managed to talk her down over the years to about 5 or 6 maximum.” Roman continued, “I’m open to having like two or three more, but it’s going to be a while before that even happens.  Still got our hands full with the twins!”

“5 or 6.” Seth repeated before shaking his head. “That is still a lot of kids, brother!  Are you even going to be able to retire?”

“Probably not.” Roman shrugged his shoulders, “Might be Galina’s strategy though: keep me working so she doesn’t have to deal with me for a couple of days each week, right?  Nah, I’m just playing.  Really though, she and I both come from big families, so we want to keep that going.”

“Big families.” Dean scoffed, looking back at his friend. “Man, I don’t think that there is a family bigger than yours, Big Guy!  And that’s not even counting the whole blood brothers deal with the Maivia clan!”

“What can I say?  We Samoans like to multiply.  Yessir!” Roman replied before joining in the laughter the two men in front of him had started.

 “So,” Seth said a few moments later when the conversation in the car had died down. “I guess that I should tell you guys that there IS a girl back in Iowa.”

“Really?” Dean teased, “Only one girl in the entire state?  Huh!  You’d think there’d be more.”

“Oh, bite me, Ambrose.” Seth rolled his eyes as Dean and Roman laughed. “No, I mean there’s a girl that I’ve been kind of seeing whenever I make it home.  I wouldn’t say that she’s my girlfriend yet though.  We’ve only gone on a few dates, so…”

“Still in the Do I Like This Person phase.” Dean nodded, pulling a bag of chips out of his bag. “She hot?”

“I think so.” Seth shrugged, “I’ve got a picture of her on my phone.  I’ll show you later.”

“So, you do her yet?” Dean said through a mouthful of chips.

“Hey!” Roman admonished from the back seat, “Number one, that’s not an appropriate question to ask, and number two, don’t talk with your mouth full!”

“Your Dad Side is showing again, Uce.” Dean replied after swallowing, prompting Roman to roll his eyes.

“No, we haven’t done it yet.” Seth said, trying to steer the conversation back on track. “Geeze, we’ve only gone on a few dates!  I haven’t even kissed her yet.”

“Taking it nice and slow.” Roman nodded, “Just don’t take it too slow, all right?”  

“Yeah, I don’t plan on it, Uce.” Seth reassured, “It just feels different this time. Like maybe Sarah…”

“Oh, Sarah!” Dean interrupted, making a tsk noise. “Dated a few of those.  Crazy.  All of them.”

“Could be the one.” Seth continued, ignoring Dean, who was dodging an attempt by Roman to smack him in the back of the head. “But, you know, I thought that about my last few relationships and look what happened there.”

“You got to go through some bad apples to find the good one.” Dean remarked as Seth pulled the car into the hotel parking lot. “Well, as much fun as it’s been discussing the ins and outs of relationships with you two like a bunch of teenage girls, I believe that the hotel bar is still open and you both still owe me at least one congratulatory drink for getting married.”

“Strange.” Seth frowned, turning the car off. “I don’t remember agreeing to that.  Do you?”

“Nah,” Roman shook his head, “But if he goes and gets a luggage cart for us, I might buy him one or two.” He paused for a moment before calling out after Dean, who had hopped out and was racing into the lobby. “And for God’s sake, don’t try to ride the luggage cart like a skateboard this time!”


	9. Rough Night

ROUGH NIGHT       

Set after the March 12th Raw.  Kayfabe compliant.

 

“Uce?” Seth called out as he opened the door to the darkened hotel room he was supposed to be sharing with Roman. “You here?”

“Physically, yeah.” the dark-haired man sighed heavily, sitting on his bed in the moonlight with his back towards Seth and staring out the window.  “Sorry but they wouldn’t let me stick around for your match.  How’d it go?”

“I lost.” Seth shook his head, deciding against turning the lights on and tossing his jacket onto his suitcase.  On the nearby table, he could see that Roman had stopped somewhere on the way back to the hotel and bought a six pack of beer, a couple of which were standing empty nearby and a third clutched tightly in Roman’s hand. “Mind if I grab one?”

“Thought you didn’t drink.” Roman replied, glancing over his shoulder at Seth.  A sympathetic smile worked its way onto his face as he noticed the younger man was sulking slightly. “Go ahead, bro.  Looks like you need it as much as I do.”

“Yeah, been a rough night for both of us.” Seth nodded, letting out a deep breath before sitting down next to the man who had become like an older brother to him.  The view out the window was nothing but that of the hotel parking lot, but something about it made both men stare directly ahead. “What’s the latest on your suspension?”

“Vince said he’d reevaluate everything after next week’s Raw.” Roman shrugged, “Got an early flight home tomorrow, but still on the hook for any media obligations this week and the house shows this weekend.” He scoffed and shook his head. “Can’t be on TV because I tell the goddamned truth, but God forbid they have people asking for refunds for their big Madison Square Garden show because the face of the company isn’t there.”

“Oh, that really is some bullshit.” Seth rolled his eyes before shaking his head.  Roman just quietly took a drink of his beer. “I was in the locker room when Vince announced your suspension.  A LOT of the boys were pissed!”

“Yeah, a lot of people are.” Roman said, looking at the almost empty can in his hand. “I mean, obviously not the crowd tonight.  Got a pretty good pop for getting suspended.”

“Yeah, you…” Seth started to say, looking down himself and seeing the multiple, fresh looking bruises and cuts on his friend’s hands; the right one bandaged up completely. “Roman?  What in the hell did you do?”

“Ah, yeah, that probably should have been the first thing I said to you.” Roman chuckled sheepishly in response, “May have punched a few lockers and broken a mirror or two while I was packing my shit up in the arena.  Hunter wasn’t exactly pleased about it when he found me.  Told me to use this time off to focus on reigning in my temper.”

“Well, he’s not wrong.” Seth pointed out, feeling his cellphone vibrate in his pocket for at least the 20th time that night. “Goddamn!  Who in the hell is trying to get a hold of me so badly?”

“You really have to ask?” Roman laughed, getting up and grabbing another beer.

“I guess not.” Seth grinned, pulling the phone out and putting on speaker as he answered. “Hey, Deano!”

“FINALLY!” an irate Dean exclaimed, sitting up from where he had been laying on his couch in Las Vegas. “Why can’t you motherfuckers pick up your phones the first time I call?  I get that Uce is probably ignoring his phone right now, but I’ve called you at least 100 times, Princess!”

“Actually, it was only twenty.” Seth teased, prompting a snicker from Roman, who sat back down next to him. “I counted.”

“NOT THE FRIGGING POINT, SMARTASS!” Dean growled, prompting his bulldog, Blue, to jump down from where he had been lying next to his owner and hide under a nearby chair.

“I should probably tell you that you’re on speaker.” Seth smiled, “Hanging out back in the room with the Big Dog and we’re working our way through a six pack.”

“What’s up, D?” Roman greeted, raising his beer towards the phone, even though Dean couldn’t see it. “You sound cheerful as ever!”  

“Uh oh!  I know that tone!” Dean said, frustrated that he was stuck clear across the country from his friends. “Going to have to cut him off pretty soon here, Sethie!  I can tell just from his voice that he’s in the buzzed zone and heading for the border with actually drunk pretty quickly.”

“He’s on like his fourth beer.” Seth nodded, remembering to hide the remaining one.

“Border’s looking mighty fine.” Roman smiled before taking another drink.  

“Anyway, this suspension is BULLSHIT!” Dean shook his head, “Renee doesn’t think it’s a good idea, but I’m seriously looking at flights out to Raw next week so I can show up and tear the old man a new one!  Then again, maybe, I should just drop in on him at headquarters tomorrow!  Beat his ass with that fake-ass dinosaur skull he has on his wall, and take it with me when I leave!  I’ve always liked that thing.”

“All right.  Calm down, D.” Roman urged as Seth opened the last beer. “Don’t need you reinjuring yourself while doling out your righteous vengeance on my behalf.  Your wife would hunt me down and beat the crap out of me!”

“Renee can be dangerous when she wants.” Dean agreed, “No one ever believes me about that, but it’s true!  Oh, hey, Princess!  Caught your match tonight with Too-Skinny Balor!  It was awesome!”

“Thanks, but I should have won.” Seth frowned, the temporary distraction of Roman’s situation fading away and leaving his mind to dwell on the doubt in himself.  He had left an opening in his attack for Balor to capitalize on.

“Eh, can’t win them all.” Dean shrugged, scratching Blue’s ear as he jumped up back onto the couch next to him. “Not even you.  Balor got that famous Irish luck this time!”

“It wasn’t luck.” Seth shook his head, replaying the match’s closing moments in his mind. “Finn knew exactly what he was doing.  How could I have not noticed that I left myself wide open?  I feel like he’s been studying my matches, looking for anything he can use against me.”

“Like you haven’t been doing the same to him?” Dean scoffed, knowing his so-called wrestling soulmate too well. “Come on, man!  We all do it…well, I mean, people like you do.”

“Deano and I work a completely different style.” Roman shrugged, smiling at Seth. “We just punch something and, if that doesn’t work, we punch it again until it does work.”

“I haven’t been doing enough.” Seth replied, clenching and unclenching his fist that wasn’t currently holding his phone, trying to sort out the thoughts racing through his brain. “What in the hell is wrong with me?  WrestleMania is only about a month away now!  I need to start seriously training for it!”

“Seth?” Roman said, worrying about the way the younger man was frantically breathing and the blank look in his eyes.  Frowning, he rested a gentle hand on Seth’s shoulder, prompting him to look at Roman. “Calm down, man!  You HAVE been training for Mania.  You have been all year!  It’s just another match.”

“No.” Seth shook his head, “Again, apparently I haven’t been doing enough if tonight is any indication.  I can’t lose at WrestleMania, Uce!”  He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I need to watch every Finn Balor and Miz match that I can get my hands on.  Maybe I should also spend more time at the gym than I have been?”

“Seth.” Roman started to say, but unsure of how to follow up.

“Oh, my God.” Dean groaned, putting a hand to his forehead.  He had a renewed desire to somehow crawl through the phone and join his friends after what seemed to have been a long night. “Seth, listen, man.  If that’s what you think you need to do, then I’m not going to stop you.  I personally think that you’re more than ready to take on fake-ass Miz and Mr. Doesn’t Eat Carbs, but that’s just me.”

“Believe that.” Roman interrupted with a nod, getting Seth to look at him. “And, even if you do lose at the big show, it’s not like the end of the world or anything.  Just means that it wasn’t your night.”

“I just feel like I haven’t had a lot of my nights lately.” Seth replied, “I mean, just look at what’s happened since we brought the Shield back!  Uce, you went down with the mumps days before our big return match.  Dean and I lost the tag team belts, and then Dean got injured.  I got stuck with Jason, won the tag belts and lost them again due to him getting injured.  I didn’t win the Rumble or Elimination Chamber, which I practically had to beg Angle to put me in.” He sighed heavily, shaking his head. “I’m just a fucking dark cloud of bad luck these days!”

“Yeah, I’m going to go ahead and take responsibility for at least two of those.” Roman said with a small smile. “I mean, I did toss you out of the Rumble and you got eliminated at the Chamber because I couldn’t get rid of Strowman fast enough.”

“I swear that man has some sort of Beat Up Roman fetish.” Dean shook his head.

“Ok.” Roman made a face of disgust, “I never want to hear you say the words: Braun, Roman and fetish in the same sentence ever again!”

“There’s probably some fanfiction on the internet involving just that.” Dean teased, “I’ll have to look it up later and send you the links!”

“You do that,” Roman rolled his eyes, “And I swear to God, Ambrose!  I WILL show up on your doorstep and Superman punch you in the face!”

Unable to help himself, Seth let out a loud, long laugh at his friends’ antics.  It didn’t take long for Roman and Dean to be infected by the same laughter.  It was something that, even though he wasn’t physically with the other two, Ambrose could tell that they needed after a very long night.

“Ah, man.” Seth said after a few minutes, holding his stomach. “I needed that.”

“I think we all did.” Roman agreed, happy to see a smile on Seth’s face. “Unfortunately, should be wrapping this up.  Got an early flight home tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah.” Dean replied, “By the way, Rome, if you need my help sneaking into the arena next week, let me know, all right?  I may know a guy.”

“Thanks, bro.” Roman nodded, “Tell you the truth, not sure what I’m going to do yet. Will let you know when I figure it out.”

“And as for you, Sethie Poo.” Dean said, “As much as it pains me to say it, you may just be the best wrestler in the world right now…I mean, except for me of course.”

“And just where in the hell do I fit in in that?” Roman interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh my God!  It’s not always about you, Big Dog!” Dean rolled his eyes, “Ok, ok, you’re the number one Samoan Badass, all right?  Now, let me get back to Seth!”  He paused momentarily, shaking his head and trying to remember where he was going with this. “So what if you’ve had shitty luck recently?  There’s no way in hell that it can last forever, right?  I mean it could possibly if you bulldozed a mirror factory or something, but as far as I know, you haven’t done that.”

“No, can’t say that I have.” Seth said with a slight smile, amused at Dean’s randomness.

“At any rate, you’ve beaten Miz and Balor before.” Dean continued, “And you will do it again!”

“Believe that.” Roman nodded as a thought struck him, “Hey!  You win the title at WrestleMania, and you’ll be in the Grand Slam club with me and Deano!”

“Yeah.” Seth replied, “I know, but I didn’t want to say anything about that.”

“You don’t get a free Grand Slam breakfast at Denny’s if you win though.” Dean pointed out, “Nobody told me that, so that was kind of a buzzkill when the waitress didn’t know what I was talking about.  Good thing Uce was feeling generous that day and paid for it.”  

“Why did you think…” Seth started to ask, before putting a hand up. “You know what?  Never mind.  Feeling a bit more confident now, knowing that you guys believe in me.”

“Should have known that all along.” Dean replied as Blue jumped down from the couch and started walking in circles by the door. “Should probably let you two go.  Blue’s doing his potty dance.  Catch you boys later!  Have a safe trip home!”

“Night, Deano!” Roman said.

“Goodnight, man!” Seth said, hanging up the phone.

 


	10. Trap

TRAP

Set after the March 19, 2018 Raw.  Kayfabe compliant…although, I don’t know if this is the way the storyline will go.

 

“Let me guess,” Roman sighed heavily, barely opening his eyes upon hearing the door to his hospital room open. “You’re here to bust my ass about not telling you that I was going to go rogue and show up at the arena?”

“You should have told me.” Seth replied, walking over to Roman’s bedside and lightly punching him in the shoulder. “Didn’t even know you were in town, much less the building until Bo Dallas ran into catering, yelling something about you, US Marshals, and Brock.  By that time, there wasn’t much I could do.”

“Not much you could have done in the first place.” Roman groaned as he shifted his position in bed slightly. “Been thinking this whole thing, starting with the suspension, was planned out by someone.”

“Yeah, been thinking that myself, Big Dog.” Seth agreed, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. “Wouldn’t put it past Heyman to orchestrate something like this.  God knows that he’s certainly capable.  You heard that those weren’t actual…”

“Real marshals?” Roman interrupted, “Yeah, wasn’t exactly my first time dealing with law enforcement.”  He smiled at his friend. “Yes, there’s a story behind that, and no, I don’t feel like sharing it.”

“I’ll get it out of you one day.” Seth chuckled, “How are you feeling, brother?”

“Well, just got a dose of pain meds not too long ago, so I’m feeling pretty good right now.” Roman smiled, “Doc still wants me to stay here until Wednesday at least for observation.  Said that I had some internal bleeding that they want to keep an eye on as well as some soreness in my neck, back and ribs.  They also want to keep an eye on where the cuffs dug into my wrists.  Want to make sure that there’s no infection.”

“Damn.” Seth shook his head, “Did you call Galina?”

“Yeah, she said that I’m a damned fool for going out there.” Roman chuckled, wincing noticeably as his ribs reacted to him doing so. “Also, we’d better not leave her alone with Lesnar anytime soon!  She might tear him apart before I can.”

“Knew there was a reason why I avoid making her mad.” Seth laughed before hearing the door open behind him.  He frowned and rolled his eyes. “Ugh. I already told you that I don’t care if visiting hours are technically over!  I…” Seeing a weird look on Roman’s face, he turned to see someone standing in the doorway that definitely wasn’t a nurse. “How in the hell…”

“So,” Dean smiled as the door shut behind him. “This is where the party is, huh?  Well, I just came to tell you that I don’t like these kind of parties!”

“Tough luck, brother.” Roman smiled widely back at him. “Not a party unless you’re here, Deano!”

“Normally, I’d hug you, Uce.” Dean said as he wandered over to the pair. “But, you know, Lesnar pretty much beat you everywhere and I don’t want to hurt you!”  He froze in his tracks and looked up and down at Rollins, who had risen from his seat. “So, where in the hell were you?”

“You know,” Seth sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. “You aren’t exactly the first person that’s asked me that.  Hell, I think the entire internet is wondering that.”

“Doesn’t answer my question.” Dean replied with a glare, putting his hands into his pants pockets.

“Don’t be mad at Seth, D.” Roman shook his head, “I didn’t tell him that I was planning on showing up.  He thought that I was still at home.”

“Oh, bullshit.” Dean scoffed, briefly glancing at Roman. “If you think that he really didn’t think that you’d show up, then I got a bridge to sell you!  Sethie knew as well as I did what you would do!”

“Anyone who knows Uce knew that was precisely what he would do.” Seth replied, thinking about his conversation with Roman earlier.

“So, you just chose to hang out with your new best friend, Balor, instead of helping Roman out?” Dean exclaimed, curling his hands into fists. “Fuck it, Seth!  You were supposed to have his back since I…”

“Played right into Heyman’s hands, didn’t I?” Roman interrupted with a shake of his head, looking at Seth.

“Only thing I can’t figure out is how he got Vince to do what he wanted.” Seth agreed, “Damn!  He’s good!”

“Ok.” Dean looked back and forth at his two Shield brothers. “What in the hell am I missing here?”  As he replayed the incident in his head and coupled it with what both Roman and Seth had said, his eyes widened at the realization. “Shit!  This entire thing was a setup?”

“That’s what we’re thinking.” Roman replied, “Heyman knew that, even if I was suspended, I wouldn’t be able to resist taking a shot at Lesnar if he showed up.  He knew that my goddamned temper would rear its ugly head and I wouldn’t be thinking straight.”

“And you’re injured.” Seth added, motioning to Dean. “And I’ve been so involved with my Intercontinental title match that I haven’t been paying a whole lot of attention on what’s been going on with Uce, so the two people capable of reigning him in weren’t there.”  

“That sonofabitch!” Dean swore, “Bad enough that Lesnar’s a goddamned beast to deal with, you’ve got to look out for smarty pants Heyman too.  It’s too much!”

“There’s a way to deal with it though.” Seth smiled, “I believe it begins with Sierra, Hotel, India…”

“Don’t think that’s going to work unfortunately.” Roman replied, “I mean, Ambrose is injured and you need to focus on your match with Balor and Miz.”

“I’ll manage.” Seth put his hand up, “Besides, no offense, Big Dog, but you’re not exactly a match for Heyman as far as brains go.”

“Gee, thanks, Seth.” Roman laughed, prompting another wince and draping an arm over his ribcage. “I love you too.”

“What our princess here is trying to say is to let him play the mental chess game with Heyman.” Dean explained, “You just focus on dealing with Brock physically and not letting your temper run wild.”  He paused before looking at Seth. “Wait!  What do I get to do?”

“Get your ass back to work for starters.” Roman replied before jerking his head towards Seth. “I can only put up with him for so long.”

“Hmm.” Seth said, trying not to show that he hadn’t really given it much thought. “Ambrose, you get to do whatever it is we need you to do.  So, yeah, that pretty much is staying at home and rehabbing that arm of yours, so you can get your ass back on the road with us.”

“Damn.” Dean frowned, “Was hoping for something a lot more fun than that.”

“What are you talking about, man?” Roman replied, “Come on!  That’s the only position in this covert operation of ours that requires you to eat fries at least once a week!”

“I do like fries.” Dean nodded before holding out his fist.  It wasn’t long until Roman and Seth held their fists out next to his. “All right!  Shield Covert Operation: Take Down Lesnar and Heyman is a go!”

  


	11. Privacy

PRIVACY

_I have no idea where this came from, but enjoy! LOL._

Resting the back of his head against the wall behind him, a satisfied groan escaped a smiling Seth as he let the hot water from the shower run down the length of his sore body.  As he closed his eyes, he listened carefully to the relaxing sounds of the water falling from the showerhead as well as the bathroom door opening and closing, and the toilet seat being lifted up before the sound of a zipper.

Wait.  What?

“What in the hell?” Seth said to himself, eyes flying open again.  He peered around the curtain to see the familiar back of someone with auburn hair standing in front of the toilet, sliding his pants down to his ankles. “Ambrose!  What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Uh, obvious, isn’t it?” Dean shrugged, glancing over his shoulder. “I gotta pee!”

“And this couldn’t wait until after I was done with my shower?” Seth growled as Dean started to slide his underwear down.  His face turning red, Rollins immediately closed the curtain again between the two.

“I couldn’t hold it any longer.” Dean replied casually, going about his business. “What’s the matter, Sethie?  I mean it’s not like I’m dropping a number two or something.  THAT would be disrespectful!  Besides, I don’t see what the big deal is!  You’re a guy, I’m a guy, and it’s not exactly like I haven’t seen you get changed into and out of your gear before!”

“I keep my underwear on under my gear.” Seth shook his head, “So, as far as I know, there are still things I have that you haven’t seen and that I don’t want you to see.  Understand?”

“Hmm?” Dean grinned mischievously, finishing his business and putting his pants back on before pulling the shower curtain back entirely. “Like what?”

“AGH!  AMBROSE!” a red-faced Seth exclaimed, immediately trying to cover himself. “WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?”

“Trying to figure out what you meant by things I hadn’t seen.” Dean replied, looking at a certain region of Seth’s body. “Huh, smaller than advertised!  No wonder…”

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE BEFORE I MURDER YOU!” Seth exclaimed, almost tearing the curtain down as he yanked it closed again.  

“Everything all right in there?” Roman asked after knocking on the door, prompting Dean to start laughing hysterically.

 

**A few weeks later…**

“Damn.  Damn.  Damn.  Damn!” Dean complained, wiggling in his seat and prompting Seth to look up from the newspaper he had been reading. “I think that coffee went right through me!”

“Just going to have to wait.” Seth replied, going back to his paper. “Uce is still in the shower.  You know it takes him at least half an hour to do his usual hair care routine!”

“Yeah, but wetting my pants isn’t exactly on my to-do list.” Dean said firmly, getting to his feet. “We who are about to die salute you.”

“You’re going to go in there?” Seth realized, looking up again. “No way, man!  Uce isn’t like me, you know?  He might ACTUALLY kill you!”

“Don’t worry.” Dean waved off, heading towards the bathroom. “If that happens, Renee knows what to do with my shit.”  

 

Hearing the bathroom door open and close again, Roman peered around the shower curtain to see Dean standing in front of the toilet, struggling with his belt.

“Really?” the dark-haired man sighed, even though he had mentally prepared himself for this to happen to him since the incident with Seth a few months ago.

“It’s either this or wet myself.” Dean replied, looking apologetically over his shoulder. “Sorry, Uce.”

“Ah, whatever, man.” Roman shook his head, letting go of the curtain before putting his head back under the shower head. “Just make sure that you wash your hands after you’re done, all right?” A chuckle escaped him and he shook his head. “Damn, made me bring out my Dad voice.”  

“Huh.” Dean chuckled, going about his business. “And here Seth and I thought that you’d fly into a rage like Princess did!”

“Any sane person would have!” Seth shouted from where he stood with his ear up against the closed bathroom door.

“Oh and it’s not creepy to eavesdrop on someone going to the bathroom?” Dean raised an eyebrow. “You’re just sick, Rollins!”

“Not getting a relaxing shower today.  No, sir.” Roman muttered to himself as he squeezed excess water from his hair.  He smiled when he next spoke to Dean (and Seth.) “Nah, you’re cool, brother.  When you have kids at home, especially toddlers, you sort of get used to not having a whole lot of privacy, even in the bathroom.  Plus, you know, I’ve been on many an Anoa’i clan vacation where there’s 10 of us and one bathroom, so we had to make it work somehow.”  He paused for a moment, looking around. “Toss me my conditioner, would you?  Orange bottle by the sink?”

“Got it, big man.” Dean nodded, looking at the bottle before handing it over the top of the curtain. “That shit actually work?”

“Helps keep my hair game on point.” Roman replied, grabbing it.

“Huh.” Dean shrugged his shoulders as he washed his hands. “Maybe I should try it sometime!”

“You have to have hair first, Ambrose.” Seth remarked, still just outside the bathroom door.

“Not exactly going to take hair tips from you, Former Two Tones.” Dean fired back, “Why are you still eavesdropping anyway?”

“Well, I was going to say that it couldn’t hurt.” Roman smiled, “You know?  With the way your hair has been going?”

“Oh, screw you too, Big Man!” Dean growled, albeit playfully. “I’m going to tell whoever you’re facing tonight to rip some of your hair out on accident.”

“That would be Kane,” Roman chuckled as Dean turned to leave. “Shouldn’t be too hard to convince him!”  All playing dropped from his voice as he noticed Dean’s hand grab the shower curtain.  “I’d think really hard before you do what you’re planning to do, Deano. You may not like the results!”  

“All right, all right.” Dean replied, backing out of the room and shutting the door behind him. 

“You were going to do it, weren't you?” Seth exclaimed, having overheard Roman’s threat. “You do know that there’s…”

“A fine line between mischief and just having an outright death wish?” Dean finished for him, “Yeah.  Mischief just equals a pissed off Princess, while the death wish involves an angry Samoan.”


	12. Father and Son

FATHER AND SON

_Set during WrestleMania 31.  REALLY wanted to write something with Roman and his dad, so…here we go._

_Just a brief note of the Samoan terms used, “lo’u atalii” means “my son,” and “Tama” means “father.”_

“Yeah?” Roman sighed in annoyance as he heard someone knock on the door for the third time, even though he had warned most people backstage that he wanted to be alone.  His first time performing in a WrestleMania main event match was fast approaching and Reigns had taken the unusual-for-him step in asking for a private dressing room, so he wouldn’t have to deal with the overflow of people and their noise in the main locker room.  He had even talked to Dean and explained that he just wanted peace, quiet and solitude to gather his thoughts.

“You haven’t changed!  You always did like to find a quiet place where you could be alone when you were nervous.” a familiar voice replied with a slight chuckle after the person it belonged to slowly opened the door.  It was a man much older than Roman with wild gray hair and a mustache to match.

“Hey, Dad.” Roman greeted, getting up from his seat and walking into a warm, tight hug from his father. “You’re here early!”

“Ah, decided to catch up with some of the other old guys who are here.  WrestleMania’s turned into quite the production since I was in it!” Sika explained, resting his forehead against Roman’s for a moment. “And of course, I also wanted to pop in and see how you’re doing, lo’u atalii!”

“I am nervous.” Roman admitted as the pair sat down on a nearby bench. “But I, uh, talked to Lesnar earlier, so we could go over everything.  Told me not to worry too much about it and just concentrate on giving the people a good show.  Then, I ran into Dwayne of all people and he told me that I was looking better than he did his first time.  He said that it’ll just seem like another match once we get going.”

“Well, he would know as he’s probably been in more main events than anyone else in our family.” Sika nodded before lightly nudging his son in the stomach with an elbow. “Although, someone could always break that record!”

“It’s not going to be me, Dad.” Roman scoffed, shaking his head. “Not with the way the fans have been treating me.  Tonight might be my only shot!”

“I don’t think it will be.” Sika replied, “I spoke with Vince earlier and he had nothing but good things to say about you.  And I’ve told you before that, in this business at least, any reaction is better than dead silence.  It’s when they go silent that you really have to start worrying.”

“Yeah, I know.” Roman reassured, rubbing the section of his tattoo that he had specifically done as a symbol for his daughter, JoJo.  This didn’t go unnoticed by Sika. “Just got to keep doing the best I can for my family, right?”

“Right.” Sika nodded, putting a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Fighting for the championship in the main event at WrestleMania.  I STILL can’t believe it!  No matter what happens out there, I’m extremely proud of you, Leati!  You’ve come so far in such a short amount of time.”

“Still got a long way to go.” Roman smiled, “But it does help that I’ve got this cranky, retired old man that texts me after every show to let me know what I could have done better in his opinion.”

“Oh?  Sounds like he’s a bitter old man, who sometimes wishes that he wasn’t retired.” Sika teased, “Wonder if it’s the same one who used to call your brother every week?  In any case, might be best if you just ignore him, eh?”

“Nah,” Roman laughed, “I don’t think he’d let me.  I mean, he’s the type that would track me down and I think he could probably still kick my ass if he wanted to.”

“Got that right.” Sika smiled at his son’s laughter. “So, you ready to face this Lesnar guy tonight?  He looks like a tough customer.”

“Yeah, I’m not in for an easy night tonight.” Roman agreed as another knock was heard on the door. “Yeah?”

“Hey, Uce.” Seth started to say as he walked into the room, but paused upon seeing that Roman wasn’t alone. “Oh!  Mr. Anoa’i!  I didn’t mean to interrupt…”

“Aye,” Sika shook his head as he stood up and pulled a slightly surprised Seth into a hug. “How many times do I gotta tell you that Mr. Anoa’i is my father?   Guess your parents did a good job of raising you to be respectful, huh?  It’s good to see you again, Seth.”

“Same, Sika.” Seth smiled, hugging the older man back.

“You know,” Sika said as the two separated, “I tried that CrossFit thing you talk about down at the senior center last week.  I think you might be onto something there!”

“Oh, no.” Roman muttered with a slight wince.

“I’ll win your son over to it eventually.” Seth replied, turning to Roman. “Anyway, Uce, Vince sent me to come get you.   Wants to talk to you about your match.”

There was a slight undertone to his voice and something gleaming in Seth’s eyes that would probably go unnoticed by most people, but Roman had spent enough time around the slightly younger man to catch it.  It was a testament to just how strong the bond between Seth, Roman and Dean still was.

“All right.” Roman frowned, getting up from the bench. “Sorry, Dad, but duty calls.”

“I should get going anyway.” Sika nodded, “Supposed to meet with Rikishi and those two clowns he calls his sons.” He hugged Roman again. “Remember, lo’u atalii: no matter what happens tonight, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Tama.” Roman smiled as he hugged his father back. “Better go see what the real big man around here wants and why he sent this jerk of all people to come get me.”

“Oh, whatever, man.” Seth rolled his eyes. “Again, nice to see you, Sika!”  

“So, what’s really up, Roll?” Roman asked after watching his dad walk away. “And don’t tell me that you don’t know!  I see that look in your eyes.”

“Well,” Seth sighed heavily, wishing that he didn’t have to share this bit of news with the other man. “It’s about the ending of your match tonight, brother.  Vince just told me that there’s been a change of plans...”  


	13. Highs And Lows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took so long! It was one of those chapters where I didn't like what I had written, so I scrapped it and tried it another way. Didn't like that, so scrapped it, etc.

HIGHS AND LOWS

_Set after WrestleMania 34.  Kayfabe compliant._

The arena was pretty much empty with everyone having gone to the various WrestleMania after parties, or home/hotel room after the long night the premiere wrestling event always turned out to be.  Be that as it may, Roman could still hear the booing from the crowd in his head as well as a small voice inside repeatedly telling him what a failure he was.  The same feeling had left him unable to look his father, his wife and daughter, or any of his family in the eyes as he silently headed up the ramp.  He remembered he had grabbed onto Galina’s offered hand, but hadn’t felt any of the comfort she had certainly been offering.  All he had felt was the aching of his head from the stiff shots his opponent had meted out in the ring and his heart aching just as painfully with misery.

Medical staff had pretty much guided his empty shell around when he got backstage.  He remembered seeing the various faces of his colleagues and management; a few of whom had tried to speak to him, but all he heard was muffled noise.  Not even Jimmy and Jey, nor Seth had been able to break through that barrier!  It was Dr. Amann’s voice that had done that: telling him that he had stitched up the wound on his forehead and they would continue to monitor for concussion, but Roman was free to go.

Somehow, he had gotten from the trainers’ room to his locker room and into the shower, but the dark-haired man couldn’t tell you how that had happened.  He didn’t know just how long he had been standing under the showerhead, but he did know that the still-warm water didn’t seem to be washing away any of his thoughts.

“Damn!” Reigns sobbed, punching his fists into the wall in front of him and finally letting the tears flow freely down his face. “Damn it!  How could I fuck this up?”

To add to the list of things he didn’t know was just how long he had been standing there, under the shower, until he felt a pair of warm, gentle hands rub his back before the arms they belonged to wrapped themselves around his waist.  A warm, equally as naked body pressed up against his back, and a very familiar scent filled the air.

“Hey, baby girl.” Roman greeted, unsure of what else to say.

“Don’t worry.  I locked the door and your parents decided to take the kids for the night.” Galina said as her husband turned around to face her.  A small, sympathetic smile appeared on her face and there was a watery sheen to her big, dark eyes as she noticed the tears in Roman’s.  She reached up and put a hand to his cheek. “Oh, baby!”   

“I…” Roman started to reply before his voice faltered. Embarrassed, he closed his eyes and wrapped his hand around hers as she tried to wipe the tears away from his face. “I just…”

“I know, babe.” Galina sighed, leaning into him and resting her head against his bare chest.  Her hands rubbing his back. “But you gave it your all out there!  I’m so proud of my Samoan warrior!”

“Why?” Roman shook his head, wrapping his arms around her after opening his eyes again. “I let everyone down, Gal.  I should have been able to beat that son of a bitch and I couldn’t!”

“Only because that overgrown piece of shit played dirty, hitting you with those stiff shots.” Galina replied, “If he hadn’t, we’d be celebrating your big win right about now.” She smiled up at him. “Believe that!”

“MMM.” Roman could feel a smile start to form on his lips and his mind fill with happier thoughts, to say the least. “How is it that you can make that catchphrase sound so goddamned sexy, baby girl?”

“Pure talent.” Galina purred, “Besides, I think I might have a few other ideas on how to get those negative thoughts out of your head, my brave warrior.”

“Oh, yeah?” Roman raised an eyebrow, “Like what?”

“Like I said, your parents agreed to take the kids for the night.” Galina smiled, “So, my plan is that we go back to the hotel and get some food in you.  Then, head on back to our room where I give you one of my infamous massages that you like so much, and a much needed soak in the bathtub before I tuck you into bed and take care of you for the rest of the night.  How does that sound?”

Saying nothing, a smiling Roman reached behind himself and turned the shower off.

 

 

“Ok, Rollins!” Miz grumpily exclaimed, making his way through the crowd of the raucous after-WrestleMania party that had broken out in the restaurant/bar area of the hotel most of the roster was staying in.  Another growl escaped the man as he slammed a shot glass full of tequila down on the table in front of the aforementioned Rollins. “Just like we agreed to: losers of our match buy the winner of our match a drink!  You happy now?”

“Never forced you into that agreement, brother.” Seth smiled smugly, leaning back in his chair. “Besides, it was Balor here’s idea in the first place, so don’t get mad at me!”

“Come on.” Finn Balor chuckled from where he was seated next to Seth. “You can’t blame an Irishman for putting drinks on the line, can you?”

Saying nothing, Miz merely glared at the two men, who were now laughing at him, before turning and heading back to his own table.

“Taking the piss out of that one will never not be funny.” Finn remarked, shaking his head as Rollins downed the shot in front of him before making a face. “Not your favorite?”

“Bastard would buy the cheapest drink he could.” Seth replied, “Reminds me of something Ambrose would have bought back in the day.”

“Well, we really didn’t specify the rules, so…” Finn started to say as one of the bartenders set a new glass of ale down in front of him. “Uh, I didn’t order…”

“From the lady.” The bartender smiled at him, nodding her head towards a waving Bayley, who was sitting at the bar with Sasha.

“Should have known.” Finn replied, raising his glass in appreciation towards her.

“Something you want to tell me?” Seth raised a teasing eyebrow.

“Despite what the internet may think, she’s just a good friend.” Finn shook his head before taking a drink. “Yeah, that’s the good stuff!  Speaking of friends, you know if Roman will be joining us tonight?  Looked pretty down after his match!  Was thinking about buying him a pint.”

“You know, I really don’t know.” Seth sighed deeply, wishing that he had another drink as he could feel the sadness and worry he had been suppressing since leaving the arena start to rise again. “I’d imagine he’s got one hell of a headache.  I tried to talk to him when he got to the back, but it was like…there was just nothing there, you know?  I’m actually kind of worried about him.”

“Hmm.  I think that a lot of us are.” Finn nodded as someone set a bottle of what was known to be cheap beer down in front of Seth.  A smile crept across Balor’s face as he noticed who it was. “Something you two want to tell me, so I can tell your husband?”

“This is actually from that lunatic husband of mine.” Renee smiled back as Seth stood up and hugged her. “Congratulations, champ!  Dean was very specific that I order you what he calls real man beer.”

“Because real men are cheap?” Finn raised an eyebrow.

“It’s Ambrose.” Seth chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders as Finn got up and walked to Gallows and Anderson, who were nearby. “Speaking of, I’m surprised that he didn’t fly out here for Mania.”

“He was thinking about it,” Renee admitted, “But he has to fly out to Birmingham in the next few days anyway.  Plus, don’t tell him that I said so but I think being here and knowing he couldn’t participate would have been too hard on him.  He really does miss being on the road.”

“Yeah, it’s not easy.” Seth nodded, knowing full well what missing WrestleMania was like.

“He did tell me that he cheered so loud when you won that it scared the hell out of Blue!” Renee giggled, “Took refuge under our bed for about an hour or so.”

“Oh, no!” Seth laughed, “Yeah, occasionally, I’ll get into things on TV or a game, and yell so loud that I scare Kevin.  Gives me this look afterwards where I just have to give him a treat, you know?”

“Been there.” Renee replied, “Actually, I guess that he scared my poor baby twice tonight.  He admitted that he got pretty upset at the ending.  Was cleaning up the shattered remains of a couple of empty bottles just now when I called.”

“Wasn’t exactly happy with how it went down either.” Seth nodded.

“Yeah, same.” Renee agreed.

“You know, I don’t think that I’ve ever seen Uce look so out of it as he did when he got backstage.” Seth said before pausing momentarily. “Well, maybe when he found out about Rosey passing away.  Both the twins and I tried to talk to him when he got backstage, but it was like Roman couldn’t even hear us.  I was just telling Finn that I’m actually pretty worried about him.”

“I texted Galina to see how he’s doing.” Renee said, “She said that they got the wound on his head stitched up and are monitoring him for a concussion.  His parents took the kids for the night, so the both of them could have some…private time.”

“Just got one stop to make first.” Roman smiled, suddenly appearing behind the blonde-haired woman.  One could plainly see a bandage near his hairline and he was still wearing sunglasses as the bright lights of the hotel were bothering his aching head.

“Uce!” Seth greeted as the two men pulled each into a high five that turned into a hug. “Hey!  You all right?”

“I’ve been better.” Roman admitted, keeping a hand on the slightly younger man’s shoulder as they let go. “But I didn’t want to call it a night before congratulating you, little brother!  Meant to do it before my match, but I got distracted.”

“No worries.” Seth waved off with a wide smile, “Took me a while, but I finally caught up to you and Ambrose!  The Shield is now all Grand Slam champions, baby!”

“Come a long way from three newbies in black turtlenecks!  Yessir!” Roman nodded before wincing as a sharp pain flashed through his head at the motion. “Damn!”

“You all right?” Renee asked, noticing the wince.

“Yeah, I’m okay, Nee.” Roman reassured as it was her turn to give him a hug. “Head’s just killing me, thanks to Lesnar.”

“That fucking bastard.” Seth growled with a shake of his own head. “Almost ran down the ramp again when he did that!  Not sure what exactly I planned to do when I got there, but…”

“I had to talk a certain someone out of going to the airport and taking the first flight out here that he could get.” Renee added as Roman let go of her. “Speaking of that, he’s flying out to Birmingham later this week for therapy.  Mentioned that he wanted to see about driving down to your place for a day, so you two can hang.”

“That would be great.” Roman said, smiling at the thought of being around Dean for a while. “Tell him to text me and we’ll work something out.  Right now, I’d better head on back up to the room.  Galina said that she was going to time me, so…”

 “I’ll go with you.” Seth volunteered, wanting to speak to Roman more in private. “Make sure that you get to the right place?”

“I’ll tell Balor where you went.” Renee promised.

“Don’t really need an escort.” Roman rolled his eyes.

“Nope, you’re outvoted on that one, mister!” Renee shook her head, “I hold my husband’s voting proxy when it comes to Shield votes.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Speaking of, I’ll tell him to wait to call you until tomorrow.  Sounds like Galina’s got a big evening planned for you two.”

“Thanks, baby girl.” Roman grinned before turning around heading towards the bank of elevators.  As Rollins caught up to his side, his smile turned into a frown. “So, now that Renee’s not around, what do you want to talk about?”

“Just been worried about you, man.” Seth replied, looking at him. “I mean, I tried to talk to you when you first got backstage, but you were checked out.”

“Yeah, was on autopilot.” Roman admitted, pressing the button for the elevator. “Couldn’t hear a damn thing outside of my own head until Amann said I was free to go.  I remember seeing you and the Wonder Twins try to talk to me, but didn’t hear a damn word you guys said.”

“Never seen you like that before.” Seth nodded, “Honestly, you looked like Ambrose does when he gets lost in his own head!”

“Got a hell of a lot more sympathy for him now if it’s anything like that.” Roman sighed heavily as both men stepped into the elevator. “Uh, tenth floor.  It was bad, Seth!  Kept hearing the crowd boo the shit out of me and some stupid little voice telling me how much of a failure I was.”  Closing his eyes, he rested his head against the cool, metal wall behind him, which felt good on his head. “Still feel down actually.  Should have won that match!”

“It just wasn’t meant to be, brother.” Seth replied sympathetically, “Can’t let yourself get too down, you know?  Sometimes, it just isn’t your night.”

“Not my night?  That’s putting it a bit lightly!” Roman scoffed before immediately looking apologetically over at Rollins. “Shit.  Sorry, man!  I know you’re just trying to help and here I am, snapping at you.”

“Well, you do have a headache from hell, so I’ll let it slip.” Seth smiled, patting Roman’s shoulder. “Your luck will turn around, brother!  I mean, you know that I’ve been in a slump since…well, pretty much since Ambrose got injured, and now look!  Intercontinental champion and member of the Grand Slam Club, baby!”

“Yeah, I guess it’s not all doom and gloom.” Roman replied, feeling comfortable enough to take off his sunglasses. “Uh, you’ll get your Grand Slam breakfast as soon as Ambrose comes back and can celebrate with us, since he sort of started the whole deal.  Still not sure why he thought Denny’s would do that, but…”

“It’s Deano.” Seth chuckled, guiding Roman out of the elevator as it reached the right floor. “Room 1016, right?”

“Yeah.” Roman nodded as they headed down the hallway. “So, where’s your girl at tonight?  Surprised you guys aren’t celebrating!  Unless she’s just a cover for you and Balor?”

“Oh, whatever!” Seth shook his head, “Nah, Uce.  Sarah’s got an aunt that lives down here, so they were going to get dinner after the show.  Did send me a congratulatory text and said that she’ll have something special for me when she gets in tonight.”

“Ah, something special, huh?” Roman wiggled his eyebrows, “I see.”

“You’re one to talk.” Seth playfully glared at him as they stopped outside Roman’s room.

“There you boys are.” Galina, who was clad in a robe, remarked as Roman opened the door. “Renee texted me and said you were headed up.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Seth teased, trying to sound official. “I found this stray Big Dog running around in the lobby and heard it was yours.  Now, the state of Louisiana has some pretty strict leash laws…”

“Yeah, he DOES like to get off his leash every once in a while.” Galina giggled as Roman just glared at Seth.  Still smiling, she hugged Rollins. “Congratulations on your big win, champ!   JoJo went crazy when you won!”

“Really?” Seth replied, “Well, I mean she is my biggest fan.  I’ll have to thank her the next time I see her!  For now, though, I’d better head back down and finish that beer Ambrose told Renee to buy me before Balor drinks it.” He lightly punched Roman in the arm. “You know to call me if you guys need anything, right?”

“Yeah.” Roman nodded, pulling Seth into another hug. “And thanks for the talk, man.  I hope that I didn’t put too much of a damper on your night.”

“Not at all, brother.” Seth shook his head, hugging the larger man back. “Like I said earlier, we all have our slumps and you’ll bust out of yours sooner than later.”  As the two let go, he smiled at Galina. “And, from the looks of it, your night is about to get a whole lot better.”

“Believe that.” Roman said, closing the door behind Seth.


	14. Stuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the brief hiatus. Had some real life issues get in the way, and the next planned chapter I had (a triple date with the Shield and their respective significant others) is just not cooperating with me for the moment, so decided to get this one up instead. It is based on something that really happened to me and a friend of mine (although, I didn't do what Roman ends up doing. LOL)

STUCK

“Hmm.” Seth frowned, looking at the half-empty beer bottle and empty chair sitting across the table from himself.  He turned his dark eyes to Roman, who had just sat down next to the empty seat. “You know, Ambrose has been gone an awful long time!  Even by his own standards.”

“Probably had to take an extra-long leak or something.” Roman casually shrugged, taking a drink of the beer he had just brought back with him.

“Like half an hour long?” Seth raised an eyebrow, swirling the remaining soda around in his glass. “Should probably tell him to get that checked out by a doctor.”

“Probably.” Roman grinned, setting his drink down. “Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re doing, Architect!  Trying to get me to get up and go check on him, instead of you?”

“Well, I can’t carry him out of here if he’s passed out.” Seth countered, smiling back at the bigger man. “And, in the more likely situation that he’s pissed someone off, you’re A LOT more imposing than I am, Uce.”

“There’s only like 3 other people in here, including the bartender.” Roman shook his head as he got to his feet. “But I’ll go see what’s keeping him while you buy the next round!”

 

“Ambrose!” Roman exclaimed, pounding on the door to the men’s room, which appeared to be locked for privacy. “Are you all right in there, brother?”

“Oh, thank you, God!” Dean happily shouted back from the other side, “Uce!  The doorknob broke when I shut the door!  I’ve been trying to get someone’s attention to let me out for like half an hour now!”

“The hell, man?” Roman couldn’t help but laugh, “Why didn’t you call me or Seth?”

“I left my goddamned cellphone back at the hotel room!”

“No shit?” Roman laughed even harder, “Damn, brother!  You are having like the worst luck tonight, aren’t you?  Left your cellphone in the room, and we just happen to pick a place that’s deader than dead to go to?”

“And the air vent in here is only about the size of my foot.” Dean nodded before hearing a pause in Roman’s laughter.  He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I DID actually try that!  Just get me the fuck out of here, will ya?”

“All right, all right.” Roman reassured through a suppressed laugh, “I’ll go talk to the bartender really quick, Uce.  Probably going to have to break down the door!”

It seemed to the auburn haired man that an hour must have passed between the time Roman went to fetch the bartender and when he himself heard a familiar cackle and a pair of footsteps approaching the other side of the door.

“Of course, you HAD to tell him.” Dean groaned, putting a hand to his forehead.

“You got stuck in the bathroom?” Seth laughed, “Oh, man!  This is too good!”

“Oh, shut the hell up, Princess!” Dean rolled his eyes, “I’m dragging you inside here once it’s open and dunking your stupid face in the toilet!” He paused to smile. “Been a while since I gave someone a swirlie, so I might need to do it a few times!”

“You are not going to give Seth a swirlie.” Roman replied firmly.

“You never let me have any fun!” Dean whined, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Anyway, got permission from the bartender to break this thing down.” Roman continued, testing the door with his hand. “Might need both me and Seth to do it, but we’ll see.  Just stay back, Deano!”

“Oh, my God!” Dean heard Seth exclaim from the other side of the door followed by another one of his infamous cackles. “You’re actually going to try and spear the door?”

“Damn it.” Dean sighed, disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to see what was happening. “Seth!  Take a video of this with your phone!”

WHAM!

“Holy shit!” Dean exclaimed, watching Roman and the door both fall forward into the bathroom and onto the floor. “Perfect form!  Ten out of fucking ten, brother!”

“Going to have a bit of bruise tomorrow, but got the job done.” Roman replied as Dean helped pull him to his feet. “You all right?”

“I’m okay.” Dean nodded before turning to Rollins. “You got video of that, right?”

“Oh, you actually wanted me to do that?” Seth replied as Dean hung his head. “I thought you were just joking!”

“Damn it.” Dean sighed heavily, “This night is just not going my way!”

“It was pretty funny though.” Seth teased, “Did the whole punching the ground thing and everything!”

“Why you got to rub it in?” Dean whined.

“Tell you what, brother.” Roman smiled, putting a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “You HAVE been having a rough night, so I’m going to reneg on my previous statement.” With a mischievous gleam in his eye, he looked at Rollins. “If you can catch the Architect and drag his ass back here, you can give him a swirlie.”

“What?” a stunned Rollins exclaimed, staring in disbelief at Roman.

“I’d start running if I was you.” Roman suggested, relaxing his grip on Dean’s shoulder.

“Thank you, big man!” Dean smiled before chasing after a fleeing Seth. “Get back here, CrossFit Jesus, and take your punishment like a man!”

“Probably going to have to give the bartender some more money on top of what we owe him for the door.” a chuckling Roman shook his head, watching his teammates chase each other around. “But it’s worth it.”


End file.
